THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GUIDE  MARKS 


FOR 


Young  Churchmen, 

BY 

RICHARD  HOOKER  WILMER,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

BISHOP  OF  ALABAMA. 


NEW  YORK 

THOMAS     WHIT TAKER 

2  and  3  bible  house 

i88q 


Copyright,  1889. 
By  THOMAS  WHITTAKER. 


■K 
SIS 


INTRODUCTORY. 


This  little  Tractate  is  a  part  of  a  volume  published  by 
the  undersigned  some  two  years  ago,  entitled  "  The  Recent 
Past,"  or  "  Reminiscences  of  a  Grandfather."  It  treated,  to 
some  extent,  of  matters  political.  A  desire  has  been  ex- 
pressed for  the  publication,  in  separate  form,  of  that  portion 
of  the  work  which  treats  of  matters  Religious  and  Ecclesias- 
tical, and  hence  this  present  issue.  It  was  originally  written 
without  any  view  to  publication,  and  that  will  account  for  its 
personal  and  familiar  style. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  this  little  volume  has  only  touched 
the  subject  matters  treated  of  in  barest  outline.  It  is  nothing 
more  than  a  rivulet,  but  it  flows  along  towards  the  great  sea 
of  knowledge,  where  he  who  thirsts  may  drink  to  his  heart's 
content.  Rich'd  H.  Wilmer. 

Easter,  1889. 


550304 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

General  Observations       7 

The  Church  in  England '  .  10 

The  Church  in  America       17 

How  the  Church  was  Planted  in  America  20 
Different    Religious  Bodies  in  the  United 

States 31 

Roman  or  Latin  Church 36 

The  Presbyterian  Communion 44 

The  Baptists 51 

Immersion 60 

The  Methodists 64 

Conclusion   of  Matters  Pertaining  to  Re- 
ligious Organizations 70 

Scepticism,  Rationalism  and  Scientism     .     .  74 

Christian  Manliness 94 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

T  N  a  much  larger  volume,  from  which  these  pages 
■^  are  extracted,  I  have  written  of  things  politi- 
cal, and  have  endeavored  to  impress  upon  your 
minds  the  duties  pertaining  to  your  earthly  citizen- 
ship. I  come  now  to  speak  of  a  higher  and  more 
enduring  theme — the  "Kingdom  of  God."  The 
kingdoms  of  men  come  to  an  end;  vast  empires, 
that  once  swayed  the  destinies  of  the  world,  are 
now  known  only  on  the  pages  of  history.  They 
rise,  fall  and  utterly  come  to  naught.  They  are  of 
the  things  of  time,  and  perish  with  time.  You, 
my  children,  will  have  a  high  duty  to  perform  in 
being  good  citizens,  in  upholding  law  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  law.  It  is  a  part  of  one's  religion, 
as  well  as  loyalty,  to  be  law-abiding  citizens.  Our 
country,  now  peaceful  after  a  bloody  war,  may 
continue  so  for  years  ;  but  there  are  existing  ele- 
ments of  conflict  which  will  become  explosive 
whenever  the  population  becomes  dense  enough 
for  ignition, 


8  GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS. 

The  Old  World  is  pouring  in  its  tide  of  popula- 
tion— peoples  of  all  religions  and  no  religion — all 
jumbled  in  a  mighty  mass.  What  will  become  of 
it  all,  who  can  tell  ?  One  thing  seems  most  cer- 
tain— that  human  affairs  move  forward  and  not 
backward.  The  state  of  the  world,  at  this  writing, 
is  doubtless  better,  on  the  whole,  than  at  any  for- 
mer period  of  time,  and  there  is  no  good  reason 
for  supposing  that  it  will  take  a  retrograde  move- 
ment. You  will  have  to  adjust  yourselves  to  the 
era  in  which  you  live,  keeping  a  true  manhood, 
whatever  the  issue:  that  will  bring  a  man  peace  at 
the  last:   that  makes  the  man. 

But  I  must  pass  to  the  consideration  of  "God's 
Kingdom  " — the  Church  of  God.  "  Of  that  King- 
dom " — as  you  have  been  taught  to  rehearse — 
'^  there  shall  be  no  end."  My  great  desire  is  that 
my  children  shall  have  an  inheritance  in  that  King- 
dom, and  ever  be  associated  with  it,  as  I  and  my 
fathers  were.  The  whole  matter,  as  you  may 
easily  suppose,  has  been  my  life-long  study,  and  I 
want  you  to  have  the  benefit  of  my  thoughts  and 
conclusions  thereupon. 

You  will  find  the  religious  world  much  divided. 
I  cannot  speak  of  all  the  existing  organizations — 
for  their  name  is  "  Legion," — but  I  desire  to  put 


GENERAL    OBSERVATIONS.  g 

before  you,  in  a  general  way,  the  attitude  of  that 
Branch  of  the  Church  in  which  I  have  been  reared 
and  of  which  you  have  been  made  members  by 
baptism— the  attitude,  I  say,  of  this  Church  to- 
wards the  rest  of  Christendom.  Its  name  is  "  The 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,"  and  it  may  be  in- 
teresting to  you  to  learn  that  this  appellation  was 
suggested  by  one  of  your  ancestors.  The  name  is 
not  a  felicitous  one,  but  has  a  noble  record  and  a 
roll  of  illustrious  men.  This  Church,  as  all  your 
reading  will  show,  is  an  offshoot  of  the  Established 
Church  in  England,  deriving  its  orders  from  that 
Church,  also  its  Liturgy  and  Usages.  We  must  go 
a  little  back  to  inquire  into  the  history  of  the  Moth- 
er Church,  before  proceeding  to  outline  the  partic- 
ular relation  of  her  daughter  to  the  religious  world 
around  it  in  this  country. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ENGLAND. 

n^HE  Church  of  Christ  was  planted  in  England 
■*■  at  a  very  early  day — most  probably  by  one 
of  the  Apostles  of  our  Lord.  This  you  will  find  in 
any  early  history  of  the  English  Church.  Repre- 
sentatives from  the  British  Church  were  present  at 
the  councils  of  the  Church  at  a  very  early  day 
(A.D.  325)  ;  long  before  the  unhappy  division 
took  place  which  separated  the  Eastern  from  the 
Western  Church. 

Rome,  being  the  controlling  power  of  the  world 
for  a  long  period  of  time,  became,  naturally,  the 
centre  of  other  influences,  religious  as  well  as  polit- 
ical. The  Bishop  of  Rome,  sustained  by  the  civil 
and  military  power,  had  no  great  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining ultimate  recognition  as  the  Supreme  Eccle- 
siastical power  in  the  west  of  Europe.     England 

held  out  against  her  jurisdiction  as  long  as  possible, 

10 


THE   CHURCH  IN  ENGLAND.  j  i 

but  finally  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  in  things  spiritual.  Augustine,  a 
missionary  under  Rome,  went  to  England,  and 
found  the  southern  part  of  the  kingdom — inhab- 
ited by  the  Saxon  race — without  the  Christian 
faith.  The  British  Church  already  existed  when 
he  put  his  foot  on  the  coast  of  England.  Little  by 
little,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  Church  in  England 
came  under  the  domination  of  the  Pope. 

It  went  sorely  against  the  spirit  and  temper  of 
our  English  forefathers  to  acknowledge  fealty  to 
any  foreign  power,  Civil  or  Ecclesiastical.  They 
fought  against  it  as  long  as  possible,  but  had  at 
last  to  yield.  It  was  this  spirit  of  jealousy  against 
the  intrusion  of  a  foreign  power,  which  made  it  so 
easy  at  a  subsequent  period  to  throw  off  the  yoke 
which  had  been  to  so  many,  even  Romanists  in 
doctrinal  matters,  a  galling  servitude.  But  a  new 
era  dawned.  Books  became  multiplied,  and 
knowledge  was  more  generally  diffused.  The 
"  Great  Reformation"  took  place. 

I  must  say  a  word  about  that  great  movement, 
of  which  all  history  of  that  age  is  full.  Henry 
VIII.,  the  King  of  England  at  the  time,  was  far 
from  being  a  pattern  of  good  morals.  He  was  im- 
perious and  lustful.     A   decision   of  the  reigning 


12  THE   CHURCH  IN  ENGLAND. 

Pope  of  Rome  crossed  his  purposes,  and  Henry 
asserted — as  he  had  a  right  to  do — the  indepen- 
dence of  the  Church  in  England  The  claim  of 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  to  exercise  jurisdiction  in 
England  had  no  di\'ine,  but  simply  a  human,  sanc- 
tion. The  yoke  Avas,  therefore,  thrown  off — as  it 
had  been  put  on — b}-  human  hands.  It  was  a 
right  and  lawful  thing  done,  although  done  by  a 
bad  man.  This  often  happens.  The  wrath  and 
lust  of  men  ate  often  overruled  to  work  out 
most  gracious  purposes.  We  are  often  twitted 
with  the  taunt  that  Henry  VIII.  was  the  founder 
of  the  English  Church  ;  whilst  the  fact  is  that  it  ex- 
isted centuries  before  Henry's  day,  and  has  existed 
centuries  since.  The  same  Bishops  exercised  jur- 
isdiction in  England  before  and  after  the  Reforma- 
tion. There  was  no  break  in  the  line  of  Bishops 
whatever.  The  Church  in  England  did  not  cease 
to  be  Catholic  because  she  then  cast  off  many  un- 
catholic  doctrines  and  usages,  which  had  become 
encrusted  upon  her.  Henry  VIII.  was  ever  a 
Roman  Catholic  in  heart  and  doctrine.  No  pre- 
vailing doctrine  was  changed  or  modified  during 
his  reign.  In  fact,  he  won  his  title  of  "  Defender 
of  the  Faith  "  for  fighting  against  Reformed  Doc- 
trines.    God  made  use  of  his  imperiousness  and 


THE   CHURCH  IN  ENGLAND.  1 3 

impatience  of  will  to  throw  oft'  a  foreign  yoke, 
which  had  been  wrongly  imposed,  and  reluctantly 
worn  by  the  great  mass  of  the  English  people. 
This  emancipation  set  free  the  minds  of  men,  and 
Henry's  successors  to  the  throne  favored  the  mighty 
change  which  was  being  wrought  in  the  religious 
mind,  and  thus  it  was,  by  little  and  little  as  light 
and  knowledge  were  vouchsafed,  that  the  Church 
in  England  came  out  of  the  wilderness  of  supersti- 
tion, cleansed  from  many  corruptions,  and  stood 
forth,  and  now  stands,  forth,  the  zealous  maintainer 
of  the  Faith  and  Discipline  "  once  delivered  to  the 
saints." 

Wherever  her  influence  extends,  light  and 
knowledge  are  diffused  ;  peoples  are  elevated ;  free- 
dom is  proclaimed ;  law  is  administered,  and  right- 
eousness prevails.  Take  the  map  of  the  world. 
Look  at  the  nations  under  Roman  ecclesiastical 
rule — Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  France,  Ireland  and 
Mexico.  What  keeps  these  people  in  the  back- 
ground ?  What  makes  the  difference^  in  Ireland 
between  Romanists  and  Protestants  ?  Spain  was 
far  ahead  of  England  at  the  era  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Englishmen  studied  in  her  schools  of  learn- 
ing.    But  Spain  extinguished  the  dawning  light  of 


14  THE    CHURCH  IN  ENGLAND. 

the  Reformation  in  the  lurid  glare  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion and  Spain  has  decayed  from  that  day. 

The  spirit  of  the  Roman  Church  is  calculated  to 
undervalue  the  exercise  of  reason,  and  to  arrest  the 
spirit  of  inquiry,  which  has  so  stimulated  scientific 
investigation,  and  made  this  age  so  fruitful  in  knowl- 
edge. Of  course,  this  spirit  may  be  carried  too  far, 
and  may  lead  to  mere  rationalism.  But  what  may 
not  be  carried  too  far  ?  You  cannot  fertilize  a  spot 
of  land  without  stimulating  the  growth  of  weeds, 
but  you  also  cannot  make  the  best  kind  of  grain 
without  fertiHzation.  So,  of  the  printing  press  — 
it  brings  many  bad  thoughts  to  the  mind,  but  it 
also  brings  the  best  thoughts  out.  It  is  a  bad  sign 
when  any  man  or  system  avoids  the  light.  "  Let 
there  be  light,"  the  herald-cry  in  chaos,  and  chaos 
departed  when  light  came. 

The  best  test  of  the  truth  of  any  system,  when 
you  can  make  a  large  enough  induction,  is  that  fur- 
nished by  our  Lord.  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them."  As  a  Church,  influencing  laws,  literature 
and  morals,  we  do  not  fear  to  challenge  all  Christ- 
endom. England  is  what  she  is,  mainly  through 
the  Church  in  England,  and,  to  this  hour,  she  exerts 
a  more  enlightening  and  benignant  influence  upon 
the  world  than  any  other  nation.    It  will  not  do  to 


THE   CHURCH  IN  ENGLAND.  1 5 

turn  from  a  large  survey  of  her  influence,  and  taunt 
her  with  being  reformed  by  such  a  man  as  Henry 
VIII.  She  was  deformed  by  that  monarch.  He 
was  the  foul  spot  that  disfigured  that  era ;  but,  as 
the  rust,  he  ate  away  the  chain  that  bound  the 
Church  to  the  court  of  Rome,  and  set  her  free  for 
her  glorious  mission  of  evangelization  and  civili- 
zation to   the  remotest  islands  of  the  sea. 

Flings  at  Henry,  and  twittings  about  his  part  in 
the  Reformation,  come  with  a  bad  grace  from  the 
Roman  Church,  which  has  preferred  men  to  honor 
and  to  the  highest  places  in  her  gift — even  to  the 
so-called  chair  of  St.  Peter  (when  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  Holy  Apostle  ever  sat  in  it) — men,  I 
say,  in  comparison  with  whom  Henry  might  be 
canonized  as  a  saint.  Read  any  history  of  the 
Popes  {e.  g.  'Ranke')  and  you  will  return  to  the 
pages  of  Henry's  life  with  a  sense  of  relief,  bad  as 
that  life  was. 

When  we  sum  up  all  that  the  Church  in  Eng- 
land has  done  in  literature,  in  science,  in  learning, 
in  works  of  beneficence,  in  sacredly  preserving  the 
Word  of  God,  in  translating  it  for  the  people  of  the 
world,  in  disseminating  the  righteous  principles 
of  law  and  equity,  in  diffusing  a  spirit  of  freedom 
and,  with  it,  the    needful  checks  and  balances  of 


l6  THE   CHURCH  lAT  ENGLAND. 

government,  we  may  well  thank  God  for  our 
English  blood  and  traditions,  and  cherish  them  as 
the  priceless  inheritance  from  our  fathers;  and,  at 
the  same  time,  next  to  that  imposed  by  the  knowl- 
edge of  salvation,  as  the  weightiest  responsibilility 
that  rests  upon  us. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA. 

T  ET  us  come  down  a  little  in  our  review  to  the 
planting  of  the  American  colonies;  chiefly  from 
Great  Britain  were  they  planted.  We  encounter, 
sometimes,  a  spirit  of  rivalry  and  jealousy  on  the 
part  of  some  American  people  towards  the  mother 
country — a  sentiment  always  unwholesome  and 
ungracious,  but  peculiarly  so,  when  directed  against 
our  mother  land.  Our  ancestors  found  nothing 
precious  on  these  shores,  save  the  soil  and  the  riches 
beneath  it.  These  were  divine  gifts  and  demand 
unspeakable  gratitude.  What  else  did  they  find  ? 
They  brought  with  them  their  blood,  lineage,  lan- 
guage, laws,  literature,  Church  and  thousand-fold 
traditions,  all  of  which  moulded  for  them  their  new 
life  and  institutions  in  their  newly-found  country. 
The  wigwam  of  the  Indian  did  not  furnish  forth  the 
equipment  with  which  our  forefathers  began  the 
battle  of  life  on  the  American  Continent.  The 
principles  of  liberty  and  the  knowledge  of  religion 

were  not  found  here,  but  brought  here.     The  bat- 

17 


1 8  THE   CHURCH  IN  AMERICA. 

tie  which  settled  the  rights  of  men  had  been  fought 
on  British  soil,  and  won  by  our  British  ancestors. 

The  particular  form  of  government  established 
here,  after  independence  was  secured,  was  the  out- 
growth of  circumstances  in  large  part ;  but  the 
foundations  and  principles  of  our  government  were 
laid  by  statesmen  who  had  drank  deep  at  English 
fountains,  and  had  been  trained  in  the  traditions  of 
English  sires.  Let  it  never  be  forgotten  by  my 
children,  that  the  sons  of  Englishmen,  and  of 
English  Churchmen,  were  the  great  men — the 
giants — who  fought  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  American  Re- 
public. 

Time  would  fail  me  to  enumerate  them.  Glance  at 
the  names  of  a  few  in  the  honored  list — Wash- 
ington, Hamilton,  Madison,  Marshall  and  a  host  of 
others — "  Nomina  clara  et  venerabilia."  So  it  was 
in  the  unsuccessful  conflict  for  Southern  indepen- 
dence— Davis,  Lee,  Johnson,  (Joseph  E.  and 
Albert  Sidney)  Hardie  and  an  innumerable  host  of 
greater  or  lesser  lights.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
distinguished  statesmen  of  the  Northern  States. 
Nor  is  this  at  all  accidental.  It  comes  by  opera- 
tion of  a  law — the  law  of  elective  affinity.  There 
is  something  of  combined  grandeur  and  simplicity 


THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA.  1 9 

in  the  spirit  and  services  of  the  Church,  which 
irresistibly,  and  oft  unconsciously,  draws  to  it  such 
men,  (not  raised  in  the  Church)  as  Clay  and 
Webster,  for  example.  Besides,  the  training  in  the 
Church  tends  to  the  production  of  such  men.  The 
great  men  among  the  Methodists  (such  as  Wesley 
and  Whitfield)  had  Church  mothers,  and  were 
early  taught  in  the  Church  Catechism  and  were 
baptized,  confirmed,  educated  and  ordained  in  the 
Church. 


HOW  THE  CHURCH  WAS  PLANTED 
IN  AMERICA. 

'T^HE  Church  of  England  clergy  in  the  Colonies 
(there being  at  that  time  no  Bishops  this  side  of 
the  water)  had  been  ordained  in  England,  and  were 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  English  Church  until 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  You  will  find 
a  full  account  of  the  whole  matter  in  "  Bishop 
White's  (the  first  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania)  Mem- 
oirs," Bishop  Seabury  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Connecticut  by  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  in 
Scotland.  Bishops  White  of  Pennsylvania,  Madi- 
son of  Virginia,  and  Provost  of  New  York,  were 
consecrated  by  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  in  Eng- 
land (the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  acting  as  con- 
secrator  in  his  chapel  at  Lambeth).  There,  the 
Apostolic  succession  was  derived  by  this  Church. 
Dioceses  have  sprung  up  through  the  whole  land. 
Several  of  the  States  comprehend,  at  this  writing, 
two  or  more  Dioceses  each, — the  State  of  New 
York  at  this  time  five. 


THE    CHURCH  PLANTED  I.V  AMERICA.      21 

It  is  often  asked,  "  How  is  it  that  this  Church, 
claiming  as  it  does,  the  elements  of  a  pure  Catho- 
hcity,  should  have  failed  to  get  a  stronger  hold  upon 
the  great  body  of  the  people  in  this  country  ?" 
The  question  is  an  important  one,  and  demands  a 
fuller  answer  than  this  narrative  seems  to  call  for. 
If  the  failure,  referred  to,  were  the  result  of  any 
want  of  adaptation  on  the  part  of  this  Church  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  it 
were  di  fatal  defect.  But  it  is  not  so.  In  the  mother 
country,  the  poor,  equally  with  the  rich,  meet  at 
her  altars.  In  the  rural  districts,  prince  and  peas- 
ant receive  together  her  teachings,  and  unite  in  her 
Liturgy.  The  manufacturing  towns  are  the  homes 
of  dissent.  There  the  social  jealousy  and  the  im- 
patience of  subordination  and  the  spirit  of  vulgar 
self-assertion  most  abound,  and  there  Dissent  is 
rife. 

The  Roman  Church  has  but  little  hold  upon  the 
native  masses  in  this  country,  and  she  imports  her 
poor.  I  refer  to  this  fact  because  we  are  constantly 
taunted  with  the  reproach  of  having  no  poor  in 
our  Churches,  and  shallow  people — and  most  people 
are  shallow — are  made  to  think  that  the  Church 
careth  not  for  the  poor.  There  is  another  view. 
Should  the  Church  have  so   many  poor  ?     Should 


22        THE    CHURCH  PLANTED   IN  AMERICA. 

she  not  enlighten  and  elevate  them  ?  Should  not 
the  hovels  of  our  laborers  be  made  more  comfort- 
able, even  if  our  Churches  were  less  gorgeous  ?  Our 
system  encourages  giving  to,  and  not  taking  from, 
the  poor.  Would  not  "  our  Father,"  who  careth 
for  the  poor,  have  it  so  ? 

I  cannot  suppress  a  very  suggestive  incident. 
Passing  once  up  the  Alabama  River,  I  fell  into  con- 
versation with  a  gentleman  of  the  Roman  persua- 
sion. After  some  talk,  slightly  sprinkled  with  con- 
troversy, he  observed:  "  I  do  not  think,  sir,  you 
can  doubt  that  our  priests  are  more  assiduous  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duties  than  Protestant  ministers 
are."  "  I  have  not  been  struck  with  the  fact,  if  it 
be  a  fact,"  I  replied.  "  Now,"  said  he,  taking  up  a 
newspaper  which  he  had  been  reading,  "here  is  an 
account  of  a  man  who  was  hung  near  Philadelphia 
the  other  day.  Who  was  on  the  scaffold  with  him 
and  giving  him  spiritual  direction?  None  of  your 
Protestant  preachers,  sir, — a  priest,  a  Catholic 
priest."  "That  is  exactly  where  he  ought  to  have 
been,"  I  suggested.  "Why,  sir?"  "Because  it 
was  one  of  his  flock  that  was  to  be  hung.  I  have 
never,  myself,  refused  to  attend  one  of  my  flock  to 
the  scaffold,  because  I  have  never  been  called  upon. 


THE   CHURCH  PLANTED  IN  AMERICA.        23 

The  Church  should  save  her  sheep  from  such  an 
ending." 

In  this  connection,  the  prevaihng  poverty  and 
distress  of  the  Irish  people  is  full  of  suggestion  and 
instruction.  Why  is  the  condition  of  the  Protes  - 
tant  portion  of  the  population  so  strikingly  in  con- 
trast with  that  of  their  Roman  Catholic  fellow  cit- 
izens ?  The  contrast  presents  itself  to  the  most 
casual  observer,  who  travels  through  the  country. 
Yet  these  people  live  on  the  same  soil,  are  under 
the  same  sky,  and  are  governed  by  the  same  laws. 
The  same  problem  faces  you  in  Mexico,  South 
America,  Portugal,  Spain  and  even  in  Italy  itself — 
the  centre  of  Romanism.  What  is  the  difficulty 
and  what  the  solution  of  the  problem  ?  These  are 
phenomena  worth  the  attention  of  men  who  give 
themselves  to  studies  of  lesser  magnitude. 

The  solution  to  my  mind  is  very  easy.  "  Christ 
is  the  Light  of  the  World."  He  declares  of  His 
own  words,  "they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life." 
His  spirit  accompanies  His  word,  and,  "Where  the 
spirit  of  Christ  is  there  is  liberty — emancipation 
from  the  slavery  of  ignorance  and  sin.  Now,  if 
men  are  denied  access  to  this  Fountain  of  Light,  if 
the  Holy  Book  be  closed  and  the  light  of  its 
teachings   excluded,    there    will   be   ignorance   of 


24        THE    CIICRCII  r LAN  TED   EV  AMERICA. 

spiritual  truth — infidelity  and  superstition,  its  twin 
children — unlike,  apparently,  but  sprung  of  the 
same  origin  and  bound  for  the  same  destiny. 

Romanism  and  the  open  Gospel  cannot  coexist, 
and  Rome  knows  this,  alas !  too  well.  How  could 
the  newly  promulgated  Doctrine  of  the  "  Imm.acu- 
latc  Conception  "  and  its  corollary,  Mariolatry,  have 
found  access  to  the  minds  of  men,  who  had  learned 
the  truth  from  the  words  of  Christ, — "Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only  thou 
shalt  serv^e." 

In  what  violent  contrast  appear  the  teachings  of 
the  Scriptures  and  some  of  the  most  notorious 
usages  and  teachings  of  the  Roman  Church. 

Take  a  few  notable  examples  of  sharp  contrast. 
Christ  declared  in  the  Judgment  Hall,  "My  King- 
dom is  not  of  this  world."  On  the  other  hand  the 
present  Bishop  of  Rome,  the  so-called  Vicar  of 
Christ,  mourns  over  the  loss  of  his  temporal  power, 
and  is  exercising  all  the  arts  of  subtle  diplomacy  to 
regain  his  lost  dominion. 

Again,  when  you  enter  the  Palace  of  the  Bishop 
of  Rome,  you  see  the  inevitable  band  of  armed 
mercenaries  stationed  to  guard  his  person.  On  the 
other  hand,  behold  his  Master!  When  one  of  his 
disciples — the  Apostle  Peter — drew  his  sword    to 


THE   CHURCH  PLANTED  IN  AMERICA.        2$ 

protect  his  Lord  from  arrest,  he  was  commanded 
to  put  up  his  sword  and  rebuked  for  having  drawn 
it.  "Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  pray  to  My 
Father,  and  He  shall  presently  give  Me  twelve 
legions  of  Angels  ?"  What  a  contrast  between  the 
twelve  legions  of  Angels — "ministering  spirits" — 
who  awaited  but  the  bidding  of  the  Lord  to  come 
to  His  succor,  and  a  band  of  hireling  soldiers  main- 
tained to  guard  the  person  of  His  servant !  "  Is 
the  servant  greater  than  the  Master  ?" 

Again,  when  Cornelius  met  St.  Peter  and  fell 
down  before  him,  what  does  the  Holy  Apostle 
say  to  him  ?  "  Stand  up  !  I  myself  also  am  a 
man!"  What  a  contrast  to  St.  Peter  does  the 
Bishop  of  Rome — the  so-called  successor  of  St. 
Peter — present  when  he  receives  daily  the  devo- 
tions and  genuflexions  of  his  followers. 

What  a  picture  of  like  sharp  contrast  presents 
itself  in  the  shape  of  Gospels  and  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  but  alas,  the  Scriptures  are  a  sealed  book 
to  the  great  multitude,  and  "  they  know  not  what 
they  do."  All  thanks  to  the  Divine  Goodness 
which  still  pities  such  ignorance,  folly  and  sin. 

The  situation  of  the  Church  in  these  United 
States  is  peculiar.  Many  of  the  old  families — 
notably  in  New  York,  Maryland  and  Virginia — 


26  THE   CHURCH  I' LAX  TED  IN  AMERICA. 

were,  as  a  matter  of  course,  almost  always  (except 
in  Maryland,  where  the  Roman  Catholic  element 
was  unusually  large)  Church  families.  In  the  wild 
settlements,  there  is  always  an  undue  jealously  of 
social  distinctions  on  the  part  of  the  laboring 
class,  and  they  prefer  to  congregate  among  those 
of  their  own  order,  where  their  means  of  living, 
mode  of  life,  style  of  dress,  and  topics  of  thought 
and  conversation,  are  more  alike. 

As  an  instance.  My  first  parish  was  along  the 
banks  of  the  James  River,  beginning  about  thirty 
miles  above  Richmond,  and  extending  some  fifty 
miles  towards  Lynchburg.  The  families  attending 
my  services  at  the  beginning  of  my  ministrations 
were  almost  exclusively  from  the  class  of  wealthy 
planters.  In  the  vicinity  of  my  Churches  were 
Baptist  and  Methodist  houses  of  worship,  and  there 
congregated  the  overseers  and  small  farmers  from 
the  hill  country.  These  people  knew  nothing  of 
Church  doctrine  or  order,  but  they  wanted  to  asso- 
ciate with  flocks  of  their  own  condition  and  pur- 
suits. The  men  wanted  to  gossip  with  their  fellows, 
and  the  wives  and  daughters  wanted  their  bonnets 
and  gowns  to  be  as  good  as  their  neighbors'.  The 
effect  of  Democratic  institutions  and  the  extension 
or  suffrage  and  the  abolishment  of  privileged  orders 


THE   CHURCH  PLANTED  IN  AMERICA.       2/ 

was  wonderfully  rapid  among  the  people  of  this 
country. 

There  is  much  discussion  now-a-days  as  to  the 
question,  "  How  to  get  hold  of  the  masses  ?"  You 
can't  do  it  at  all  by  any  system  of  operations  of  a 
mechanical  character.  There  is  a  repulsion  on 
their  part,  and  produced  by  the  very  spirit  of  envy 
and  jealousy  and  self-assertion  which  the  Church 
tries  to  put  down  and  eradicate.  It  can  only  result 
from  a  larger  measure  of  that  Divine  influence 
which  eradicates  self,  and  inspires  a  thirst  for  truth. 
A  minister,  who  himself  is  deeply  imbued  with  the 
Divine  gift,  and  has  power  and  tact,  can  work  won- 
ders with  this  repelling  prejudice,  as  he  can  with 
the  other  powers  of  darkness.  And  that  is  our 
only  hope  just  now, — a  faint  one,  I  must  confess. 

But,  besides  this  indwelling  spirit  of  social 
jealousy  with  its  attendant  ills,  there  were  peculiar 
difficulties  with  which  this  Church  had  to  contend 
in  her  earlier  history  in  this  country, — difficulties 
which  laid  the  foundation  of  sectism  deep  and 
broad.  The  clergy  of  this  Church  were,  as  a 
general  rule,  Englishmen.  The  Church  itself  went 
by  the  appellation  of  "  The  English  Church."  We 
had  no  Bishops,  no  Seminaries — -everything  was 
English.     War  with  England  had  filled  the  whole 


28         THE   CHURCH  PLANTED  IN  AMERICA. 

country  with  animosity  against  everything  "  Eng- 
hsh" — Church  and  State.  A  tide  of  odium  and 
unreasonable  hate  went  hke  a  wave  over  the  whole 
country,  and  threatened  to  ingulf  all  sacred  memo- 
ries that  commonly  attach  men  to  the  land  of  their 
forefathers. 

The  Church  suffered  grieviously  for  a  long  time, 
and  has  not  to  this  day  fully  rallied  from  the  shock 
received.  The  clergy,  many  of  whom  were  Eng- 
lishmen by  birth,  returned  to  their  native  land, 
thus  leaving  many  parishes  vacant.  Many  of  those 
who  remained  during  the  continuance  of  the  Revo 
lutionary  war  were  incompetent,  and,  as  is  the  case 
oftentimes  with  colonial  ministers,  were  men  of  little 
character.  A  long  interval  ensued  before  Bishops 
were  set  apart  for  America.  The  consequences  of 
all  this  was  disastrous  in  the  extreme.  Parishes 
went  rapidly  to  decay ;  legislation  confiscated 
Church  property,  the  gift  of  the  crown  or  of  Eng- 
lish land  owners;  popular  prejudice  ran  fiercely 
against  her  institutions  because  they  were  stigma- 
tized as  "English."  The  masses  of  people  thus 
became  alienated.  Methodism,  then  vigorous  and 
aggressive,  strongly  appealed  to  the  passions  of  the 
people.  The  landed  gentry  of  the  country  still 
clung  to  the  Church  as  the  Church  of  their  fathers. 


THE  CHURCH  PLA.VTED  IN  AMERICA.       29 

They  had  intelligence  sufficient  to  enable  them  to 
distinguish  between  the  Church  and  the  action  of 
the  British  Government,  which  was  so  hateful  to 
the  colonists.  But  the  zeal  of  the  few  remaining 
adherents  to  the  Church  was  languid.  They  were 
uninstructed  from  Sunday  to  bunday;  they  were 
rather  disposed  to  fight  for  the  Church  than  to  live 
for  it.  With  some  few  and  striking  exceptions,  the 
state  of  things  was  as  given  here.  You  may  judge 
of  the  low  condition  into  which  the  Church  had 
fallen  from  an  incident  which  I  had  from  Bishop 
Meade  of  Virginia.  He,  in  connection  with  my 
father  (William  H.  Wilmer,  D.D.,  afterward 
president  of  William  and  Mary),  and  one  or  two 
other  earnest  men,  made  a  united  effort  to  revive 
the  Church  in  Virginia. 

They  first  united  in  calling  Bishop  Moore  to  be 
their  Bishop.  They  took  steps,  also,  to  raise  an 
endowment  for  a  Theological  seminary,  and  carried 
it  through.  The  Theological  seminary  near  Alex- 
andria, Va.,  is  the  result  of  the  effort  then  inaugu- 
rated, the  instruction  of  students  being  first  given 
in  my  father's  house  in  Alexandria.  Whilst  going 
through  Virginia,  soliciting  funds  for  this  object, 
Bishop  Meade  (who  was  then  a  young  man) 
applied    among   others,  to  Judge   Marshall,   Chief 


30        THE   CHURCH  PLANTED   IN  AMERICA. 

Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  for 
aid.  The  Judge  repHed  that  of  course  he  would 
not  withhold  his  contribution.  It  was  his  Church, 
and  that  of  his  forefathers,  but  he  thought  the  idea 
of  resuscitating  it  in  Virginia  was  hopeless;  and  he 
expressed  himself  as  full  of  regret  that  a  young 
man  of  family  and  talent,  as  Bishop  Meade  was, 
should  throw  away  his  life  in  so  quixotic  an  under- 
taking. 

The  "  Old  Chief,"  (as  Judge  Maashall  was 
familiarly  called  among  his  intimates)  did  not  live 
to  see  the  glorious  future,  which  has  opened  for  the 
Church  in  Virginia  from  the  dark  and  apparently 
hopeless  condition  in  which  he  knew  it.  The 
clergy  of  Virginia  can  now  be  found  in  all  countries 
of  the  world  nearly.  One  of  her  sons  is  Bishop  of 
Japan,  another  was  a  Bishop  of  Africa,  and  he 
succeeded  a  Virginian  in  that  Bishoprick;  seven- 
teen of  her  sons,  born  on  her  soil,  are,  or  have  been 
Bishops  of  Dioceses  in  the  United  States. 


DIFFERENT  RELIGIOUS  BODIES  IN 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 

\TOW  I  desire  to  say  something  about  the  differ- 
•'• '  ent  rehgious  bodies,  with  which  you  will 
come  in  contact,  and  to  point  out  their  characteris- 
tics and  claims,  and  to  show  you  your  relation  to 
them.  It  is  most  important  that  you  understand 
these  things, — first,  that  you  may  give  an  intelli- 
gent reason  for  your  own  position  in  Christendom, 
and,  also,  be  prepared  to  instruct  others  in  matters 
of  so  great  concernment.  That  there  should  be 
divisions  among  Christian  people  is  much  to  be 
deplored  for  every  reason.  Division  runs  counter 
to  the  mind  of  our  Lord,  whose  prayer  ever  was, 
"Father,  that  they  may  be  one  as  We  are  one." 
Again,  it  breeds  unholy  contention  and  emulation, 
divides  forces,  and  wastes  energies;  practically,  it 
divides  to  a  certain  extent  (and  it  is  to  that  extent 
injurious)  the  Kingdom  of  God  against  itself. 

The  divided  state  of  Christendom  is  gloried  over 
in  a  certain  kind  of  flash  oratory,  which  describes 

the  varied  hues  of  a  divided  Christianity  as  a  beau- 

31 


32  DIFFERENT  RELIGIOUS  BODIES. 

tiful  kaleidoscopic  picture,  where  are  displayed  all 
the  prismatic  hues  of  light, — forgetting  that  where 
the  colors  of  the  prism  are  exhibited  it  is  in  con- 
sequence of  refraction,  and  does  not  present  the 
pure  light  as  it  comes  from  Heaven.  Or,  as  some 
others  delight  to  view  it,  they  picture  the  various 
Denominations  as  regiments  or  divisions  of  the 
grand  army,  fighting  under  one  Captain — the  great 
Captain  of  Salvation.  All  this  sounds  very  pretty, 
and  is  sufficiently  captivating  to  a  certain  sort  of 
mind,  but  the  lamentable  fact  is,  that  these  several 
regiments,  or  divisions — call  them  what  you  will — 
are  spending  a  large  part  of  their  strength  and  time 
in  fighting  and  firing  into  each  other.  They  have 
to  keep  three  or  four  ministers  in  a  little  village 
(where  the  services  of  one  good  man  would  be 
sufficient)  to  watch  each  other  and  keep  the  balance 
of  power  even.  At  this  moment,  two-thirds  of  the 
ministers  in  the  small  villages  might  be  sent  to  the 
heathen,  to  the  great  advantage  of  Christendom. 

Time  would  fail  me  to  enter  into  all  the  evils  of 
schism.  Yet  we  find  great  and  good  men  among 
all  the  Denominations.  We  must  not  ignore  that 
fact,  nor  that  other  great  fact — that  this  goodness 
which  we  see  in  them  is  the  fruit  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,  and  the  outcome  of  their  union  with  Christ. 


DIFFERENT  RELIGIOUS  BODIES.  33 

They  could  not  else  manifest  as  they  do  often,  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit.  These  are  the  actual  pheno- 
mena, with  which  we  have  to  deal — to  deal  fairly 
and  honestly.  Hence,  we  are  called  upon  to  dis- 
tinguish between  men  and  their  systems  and 
organizations.  The  latter  may  be  a  mistake,  a 
wrong,  an  injury;  and  yet,  through  the  frailty  of 
sinful  man,  good  men  may  be  earnestly,  however 
mistakenly,  working  under  them. 

With  some  men,  it  is  a  lust  of  power,  an  ambi- 
tious spirit,  a  desire  to  exalt  self.  Divisions  ordin- 
arily spring  from  unruled  lusts  of  ambitious  men, 
good  men,  too,  it  may  be,  but  not  good  enough  to 
kill  their  ambition.  With  some  other  men,  their 
denominational  connections  are  the  result  of  ignor- 
ance and  shallowness;  they  really  think  they  are 
promoting  the  purity  of  the  Church  by  a  whole- 
some rivalry.  With  the  great  mass  of  men,  it  is  a 
matter  of  accident  or  of  pure  indifference.  They 
do  not  care  or  think  much  about  the  matter. 

Now,  I  hold — and  have  ever  taught,  both  pub- 
licly and  privately — that  the  divided  state  of  Chris- 
tendom is  an  evil  of  incalculable  magnitude,  and 
that  it  becomes  every  Christian  man  to  do  what  in 
him  lies  to  heal  this  breach.  He  cannot  do  it,  in 
my  judgment,  by  treating  the  evil  lightly;  nor  by 


34  DIFFERENT  RELIGIOUS  BODIES. 

contention  and  strife.  The  evil  comes  from  the 
Evil  One;  the  counteracting  good  must  come  from 
the  Author  and  Giver  of  all  goodness.  All  work 
for  whatever  good  ^nd,  if  not  done  in  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  intensifies  the  evil  sought  to  be  remedied. 
It  adds  fuel  to  the  fire,  and  feeds  instead  of  quench- 
ing the  flames.  I  hold — and  have  ever  taught  and 
preached  it — that  each  Christian  man  should,  so  far 
as  his  intelligence  goes,  seek  to  know  what  is  the 
truth  in  all  this  matter  of  a  divided  Christendom, 
The  very  spirit  and  desire  to  find  out  the  truth  is 
a  good  beginning,  and  will  not  end  there  in  any- 
earnest  mind. 

The  difficulty  would  not  long  exist  were  men 
earnestly  to  go  to  work  to  find  out  the  truth,  with 
the  love  of  the  truth  to  inspire  their  search.  One 
has  no  business  to  talk  about  any  truth  in  any 
other  spirit,  no  more  than  he  would  have  a  right 
to  talk  about  the  properties  of  angles,  etc.,  unless 
he  had  learned  something  of  Geometry.  The  good 
in  an  evil  thing  is  often  only  apparent  on  the  sur- 
face, the  evil  often  poisons  and  corrupts  the  whole 
system. 

But  I  am  dwelling  too  long  upon  these  gener- 
alities. I  must  come  to  a  nearer  and  more  tangi- 
ble view  of  the  subject;  only  observingat  the    out- 


DIFFERENT    RELIGIOUS  BODIES.  35 

set,  that  every  man,  and  every  body  of  men,  should 
give  an  account  of  themselves,  when  they  came 
into  being-,  and  what  good  purpose  they  are  sub- 
serving by  continuance  in  being,  in  a  word,  the 
*' raison  d'etre." 
I  take  up  first,  the 


ROMAN  OR  LATIN  CHURCH. 

I  TAKE  this  Church  first,  because  she  is  the 
largest  Christian  organization  in  the  world 
and,  furthermore,  she  claims  to  be  the  only  legiti- 
mate, divinely-appointed  communion  of  Christians 
on  earth.  You  will  meet  the  claims  of  Rome 
everywhere;  in  books,  newspapers,  schools,  col- 
leges, etc,  A  wonderful  piece  of  mechanism  it  is, 
vast,  complex,  flexible  and  inflexible  power,  suited 
to  all  temperaments,  adjusting  itself  to  all  idiosyn- 
crasies, and,  as  regards  the  great  "  Society  of 
Jesus,"  especially,  politic,  daring,  or  submissive,  as 
the  case  may  call  for,  to  the  last  degree — alas !  in 
what  painful  contrast  with  the  simplicity  of  "  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus." 

Rome  is  to-day  pretty  much  what  Jesuitism  is, 
because  Jesuitism,  after  having  fought  the  world, 
and  even  the  Bishops  of  Rome  sometimes,  and 
after  having  been  expelled  in  turn  from  nearly  all 
the  countries  of  Europe,  has  achieved  its  present 

commanding   position;    gives    counsel    to    Popes, 
36 


ROMAN  OR  LATIN  CHURCH.  IJ 

causes  doctrines  to  be  promulgated, — new  doc- 
trines— upon  the  same  platform  of  authority  with 
the  ancient  Creeds.  Rome  claims  to  be  exclusively 
the  Catholic  Church. 

The  Church  in  England,  as  I  have  before  written, 
was  at  one  time  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop 
of  Rome;  so  were  all  the  churches  of  Western 
Europe.  The  Church  in  England  is  not  so  now; 
but  Rome,  none  the  less,  asserts  her  claim,  and 
promulgates  decrees  and  dogmas  as  by  divine  war- 
ranty. Within  my  memory,  she  has  taken  a  private 
opinion  of  individuals,  and  elevated  it  to  the  dig- 
nity of  a  fundamental  dogma — "  The  Immaculate 
Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin." — Later  still,  and 
in  my  day,  she  has  promulgated  the  dogma  of  the 
"Infallibility  of  the  Pope," — has  done  it  formally; 
and  her  adherents,  some  of  them  reluctant,  and 
some  recalcitrant  for  a  while,  have  either  formally 
given  in,  or  preserve  a  still  silence.  Strange, — and 
yet  not  strange— it  is — that  the  promulgation  of 
infallibility  synchronized  exactly  with  the  passing 
away  of  all  her  temporal  dominion. 

This  fact  is  exquisitely  brought  out  by  Mozley 
in  his  "  University  Sermons."  I  cannot  forbear  a 
single  extract.  He  is  speaking  of  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  at  the  moment 


3  8  ROMAN  OR  LATIN  CHURCH. 

of  his  stepping  down  from  the  throne  of  temporal 
dominion.  "Is  not  this,"  says  Mozeley,  "the  act 
of  a  dispossessed  monarch,  who,  upon  the  eve  of 
the  crisis,  collects  all  his  greatness  about  him,  and 
prepares  to  quit  his  throne  with  a  rigorous  state- 
ment of  his  rights  first  put  forth.'  ....  The 
claim  represents  former  possession,  Rome  issues 
out  of  her  own  gates,  taking  her  history  with  her; 
she  collects  her  prestige,  she  gathers  up  the  past, 
she  calls  in  all  the  antecedents  of  her  temporal 
greatness;  she  stereotypes  memory  in  decrees; 
she  condenses  history  into  dogmas;  she  surrounds 
herself  symbolically  with  all  the  insignia  of  her 
secular  glory ;  .  .  .  ,  A  thousand  banners  and 
escutcheons  are  hid  in  one  of  those  sentences  which 
makes  the  statement  of  her  dominion,  in  order  to 
serve  as  a  support  to  her  in  the  loss  of  the  fact.  . 
.  .  .  All  in  vain!  The  Earth  must  roll  back 
upon  its  axis  before  the  moral  sense  of  society  re- 
cants on  these  questions.  Never  again,  never, 
though  ages  pass  away,  never  any  more  under  the 
heavens,  shall  be  seen  forms,  and  fabrics  and  struc- 
tures, and  combinations  that  we  have  seen.  They 
have  taken  their  place  among  departed  shapes  and 
organisms,  deposited  in  that  vast  mausoleum  which 
receives,  sooner  or  later,  all  human  creations.     The 


ROMAN  OK  LATIN  CHURCH.  39 

mould  in  which  they  were  made  is  broken,  and 
their  successors  will  be  casts  from  a  new  mould. 
The  world  is  evidently  at  the  end  of  one  era,  and 
is  entering  upon  another;  but  there  will  remain  the 
Christian  Creed  and  the  Christian  Church,  to  en- 
lighten ignorance,  to  fight  with  sin,  and  to  conduct 
man  to  eternity." 

Upon  what  grounds,  you  may  well  ask,  does 
Rome  build  her  vast  pretensions?  Chiefly  upon  a 
declaration  of  our  Lord  to  St.  Peter:  "  Upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  My  Church,'  etc."  If  the  words 
mean  what  the  Romanists  affirm  they  do  mean, 
there  is  no  declaration  that  they  confer  any  special 
or  similar  authority  or  privilege  upon  the  Bishops 
of  Rome.  For,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  a  mooted 
point,  whether  St.  Peter  was  ever  Bishop  of  Rome. 
St.  Paul  certainly  was  there,  and  also  wrote  the 
"  Epistle  to    theRomans." 

But,  besides,  you  must  interpret  the  meaning  of 
our  Lord's  declaration  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
history.  Is  there  any  evidence  to  show  that  St. 
Peter  claimed  the  pre-eminence  said  to  have  been 
conferred  upon  him  in  these  quoted  words,  or  that 
it  was  ever  conceded  to  him  by  the  other  Apos- 

*Mozeley's  University  Sermons,  pp.  22-24. 


40  ROMAN  OR   LAT/iV   CHURCH. 

tics?  The  contrary  is  the  fact.  Rome  is  not  the 
"Mother"  of  Churches.  Jerusalem,  where  the 
Christian  Dispensation  of  the  Church  was  inaugu- 
rated, is  the  "  Mother  Church."  And  you  will 
observe  that  at  the  meeting  of  the  first  Council  of 
the  Church  (Acts  xv.)  St.  James,  the  first  Bishop 
of  Jerusalem,  was  the  presiding  Bishop  ;  St.  Peter 
merely  giving  his  opinion  as  a  member  of  the 
Council.  St.  Peter  gave  his  opinion,  whereas  St. 
James  concluded  the  deliberations  of  the  Council 
by  saying:  "Wherefore  my  sentence  is,"  thus 
announcing  the  judgment  of  that  body — The  First 
Church  Council. 

How  can  such  a  state  of  things  be  accounted  for 
from  the  Romanists'  position  in  regard  to  the  so- 
called  successors  of  St.  Peter?  It  was  many  years 
before  a  Bishop  of  Rome  claimed  anything  like 
supremacy;  and  the  claim  was  never  recognized 
by  the  Church  Universal.  The  Oriental  Churches 
never  fell  under  the  power  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 
They  exist  to-day,  and  have  existed  from  the  be- 
ginning, apart  from  his  sway.  Therefore,  it  is  the 
most  shameless  and  groundless  assumption — that 
of  the  claim  of  the  Pope  to  universal  supremacy 
and,  as  a  corollary  therefrom,  to  infallibility.  When 
you  read,  as  you  will,  in  history,  of  the  counter 


ROMAN  OR  LATIN  CHURCH.  4 1 

decisions  of  the  Bishops  of  Rome,  and  of  the  prof- 
ligate hves  of  many  of  them  (history  records  no 
worse  characters  than  some  of  them),  it  is  almost 
amusing,  were  the  consequences  less  serious,  to 
hear  such  announcements  as  are  made  of  the  power 
of  the  Pope.  Flings  at  the  English  Church, 
because  of  Henry  VlII.'s  character,  come  with  a 
bad  grace  from  men  who  now,  as  a  matter  of  salva- 
tion, must  believe  in  the  infallibility  of  a  Borgia! 
Then,  too,  when  you  come  to  the  matter  of  doc- 
trine,— that  of  "transubstantiation,"  the  worship  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  Roman  Purgatory,  etc., — 
you,  who  have  been  instructed  in  the  Word  of  God, 
can  hardly  be  drawn  away  from  the  ancient  faith 
into  the  mazes  of  Roman  error. 

The  best  antidote  against  all  uncatholic  doctrine 
is  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  Word  of  God, 
as  interpreted  and  accepted  by  the  Universal 
Church.  It  is  a  two-edged  sword  that  guards  in 
all  directions  the  tree  of  life.  Make  it,  my  children, 
your  book  of  counsel,  the  guide  for  time  and  eter- 
nity— health  for  body  and  soul. 

Yet  think  not  that  I  join  in  the  popular  and  un- 
discriminating  tirade  against  Rome.  She  has  the 
Faith,  though  sadly  disfigured,  and  enrolls  among 
her  children  a   goodly  fellowship  of  saints  and  a 


42  ROMAN  OR  LATIN  CHURCH. 

noble  army  of  martyrs, — not,  indeed,  because  of  har 
errors,  but  in  spite  of  them.  In  many  things  we 
might  imitate  the  zeal  and  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  so 
wonderfully  illustrated  in  her  communion.  Roman 
Catholicism,  in  so  far  as  it  is  true  to  the  Catholic 
faith,  is  one  thing,  and  worthy  of  all  admiration. 
But  Romanism  as  corrupted  by  new  doctrines,  and 
perverted  by  Jesuitism,  which  just  now  is  in  the 
ascendant,  and  dictates,  as  it  is  thought,  the  policy 
of  that  Church,  is  quite  another  thing. 

Against  all  these  uncatholic  features  of  the  Roman 
Church,  this  Church  of  ours  entersher  solemn  pro- 
test. Hence  she  is  called  the  "  Protestant  "  Church, 
because  she  is  so  truly  Catholic.  Her  Protestantism 
constitutes  really  the  negative  side  of  her  Cath- 
olicity. 

We  do  not  profess  our  faith  in  "  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,"  but  in  the  "  Holy  Catholic 
Church."  And  why  ?  Because  our  faith  cannot 
properly  rest  in  any  one  branch  of  the  Church. 
Any  particular  Church  may  err  from  the  faith. 
Rome  assuredly  has;  she  has  erred  by  unwarranted 
additions  to  the  Faith ;  she  imposes  uncatholic 
conditions  of  communion  and  fellowship.  We 
cannot  fraternize  with  her,  without  accepting  as 
true  what  is  not  true.     Besides,  she  has  excom- 


ROMAN  OR  LA  TIN  CHURCH.  43 

municated  us ;  we  have  never  excommunicated 
her.  The  schism  between  us  is  not  of  our  making, 
we  are  ready  to  meet  her,  and  all  Christendom 
upon  the  basis  of  Catholic  truth — that  which  was 
always,  everywhere  and  held  by  all — our  faith  being 
in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  and,  only  using  the 
appellation  of  "  Protestant  Episcopal  "  by  way  of 
designating  a  branch  of  the  Church,  and  because  it 
has  a  well-known  doctrinal  and  historical  signifi- 
cance;  just  as  we  designate  continents  and  oceans 
and  bays  and  rivers,  to  localize  and  distinguish 
them,  but  not  to  deny  and  lose  sight  of  the  fact 
that  all  these  several  divisions  make  up  the  great 
land  and  sea, 

"Pray   for   the   peace   of  Jerusalem," — "They 
shall  prosper  that  love  Thee," 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  COMMUNION 

TS  a  select,  learned  and  most  respectable  commu- 
nion  of  Christian  people.  Why  is  it  called  Pres- 
byterian ?  To  indicate  the  fact  that  their  ministers 
are  Presbyters  merely,  and  that  they  recognize  no 
office  in  the  Church  like  that  of  our  Bishops.  That 
Denomination  has  precedence  in  Scotland,  an  exis- 
tence in  England  and  Ireland,  in  France  and 
the  United  States,  besides  scattered  congregations 
on  the  Continent  and  missions  among  the  heathen. 
Its  history  dates  back  no  farther  than  the  Refor- 
mation. There  is  no  satisfactory  record  of  a  Church 
up  to  that  era  which  was  not  ruled  by  Bishops. 
They  claim  that  their  ministerial  government  was 
instituted  by  the  Apostles,  but  admit  that  it  soon 
merged  into  the  Episcopal  form.  It  will  strike  any 
one  as  very  strange  that  the  Apostolic  form  of 
government  (supposing  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
that  such  was  Presbyterian)  should  have  lasted  so 

short  a  time.     There  must  have  been  a  strong  ten- 
44 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN   COMMUNION.  45 

dency  to  Episcopacy  in  early  Presbyterianisni — 
such  as  does  not  exist  now. 

During  the  ApostoHc  era,  the  Church  was,  with- 
out controversy,  governed  by  the  Apostles.  The 
first  clear  intimations  of  subsequent  history  give  us 
Episcopal  Churches  everywhere.  If  any  change 
ever  took  place  from  Fresbyterianism  to  the  Epis- 
copal polity,  as  they  allege,  history  docs  not  record 
the  fact  nor  the  time.  The  truth  is,  that  all  this 
talk  is  purely  conjectural,  imaginary  and  hardly 
reasonable.  If  there  is  any  truth  in  it,  the  burden 
of  proof  (positive)  rests  upon  themselves.  The 
whole  stream  of  history  is  against  the  assertion. 
The  analogy  of  nature,  in  its  manifold  headship, 
is  against  it.  It  is  an  afterthought  altogether. 
Some  of  the  most  learned  of  the  Reformers — nota- 
bly Calvin — acknowledged  the  fact  of  Primitive 
Episcopacy,  and  he  would  have  ingrafted  the  feature 
upon  his  system  had  it  been  practicable. 

The  history  of  Puritanism  in  England  is  a  most 
suggestive  one.  It  originated  in  a  certain  school 
of  divines  of  the  Church  in  England,  who  were 
enamoured  of  a  more  simple  Ritual  than  that  of  the 
Church,  and  held  stronger  views  of  the  doctrines 
of  predestination  and  election,  etc.,  than  "The 
Thirty-nine  Articles  of  Religion  "  justified.     This 


46  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  COMMUNION. 

body  of  divines  holding  said  views,  at  last,  after 
many  attempts  had  been  made  to  pacify  and  har- 
monize them,  went  to  themselves,  established  their 
standards — "The  Confession  of  Faith,"  etc.,  and 
thus  took  a  determinate  departure  from  the  histor- 
ical Church  in  England  and  other  countries. 

They  seemed  to  delight  to  run  counter  to  every 
distinctive  and  characteristic  feature  of  the  Church : 
— we  kneeled,  they  stood  in  prayer ;  we  kneeled 
at  the  Holy  Eucharist,  they  sat  and  partook  ;  they 
objected  to  the  surplice,  to  the  sign  of  the  cross  in 
baptism,  to  the  wedding  ring,  etc.  So  trivial  were 
the  grounds  of  their  dissent,  as  you  will  see  in 
any  history  of  the  times.  But  times  are  changed, 
and  they  have  changed,  as  we  all  have  changed 
somewhat  with  the  times.  No  more  do  we  hear  of 
the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Presbyterianism. 

The  great  Fatherhood  of  God,  loving  all  His 
children,  and  shining  like  the  sun  on  all  His 
creatures,  has  relegated  to  the  tombs  all  those 
narrow,  harsh,  repelling  and  appalling  views  of  the 
Deity  which  came  once  from  Presbyterian  pulpits. 
They  still  sing  "  Hark,  from  the  tombs,"  but  the 
voice  of  the  Easter- tide  will  drown  th-at  doleful  cry 
after  awhile. 

Some  of  their  best   men  are  beginning  to  cry 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  COMMUNION.  47 

aloud  for  a  liturgical  worship.  After  a  while  they 
will  demand  it.  Their  Sabbaths  (Judaical  as  their's 
have  been)  will  give  way  to  the  "  Lord's  Day," 
and  they  will  sing  Te  Deums  and  Glorias,  as  other 
Christian  people  have  done  and  will  continue  to 
do. 

Why  they  keep  up  their  distinctive  organization 
it  is  hard  to  say.  What  truth  they  maintain  dis- 
tinctively cannot  be  pointed  out.  What  special 
attraction  there  is  in  their  mode  of  worship  does 
not  appear.  They  hold  a  great  deal  that  is  good, 
but  they  do  not  specially  hold  anything  good  that 
the  historical  Episcopal  Church  does  not  also  hold. 
You  may  say,  indeed,  with  truth,  that  distinctive 
Presbyterianism  no  longer  exists  save  in  its  minis- 
terial polity,  and  that  cannot  stand  the  test  of 
history. 

Chillingworth  (in  his  "  Apostolical  Institution  of 
Episcopacy  Demonstrated  ")  puts  the  allegation,  on 
the  part  of  the  Presbyterians,  that  "  Presbyterianism 
was  ancient  and  Apostolic,  but  had  run  into  Epis- 
copacy "  in  a  helpless  condition.  He  says  (p.  509) 
"  When  I  shall  see,  therefore,  all  the  fables  in  the 
Metamorphoses  acted,  and  prove  true  stories,  when 
I  shall  see  all  the  Democracies  and  Aristocracies  in 
the  world  lie  down  and  sleep  and  awake  into  Mon- 


48  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  COMMUA'ION. 

archies,  then  will  I  begin  to  believe  that  Presby- 
terial  government,  having  continued  in  the  Church 
during  the  Apostles'  time,  should  presently  after 
(against  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  the  will  ol 
Christ)  be  whirled  about  like  a  scene  in  a  mask, 
and  transformed  into  Episcopacy.  In  the  mean- 
time, while  things  remain  thus  incredible,  and  in 
human  reason  impossible,  I  hope  I  shall  have  leave 
to  conclude  thus :  '  Episcopal  government  is 
acknowledged  to  have  been  universally  received  in 
the  Church  presently  after  the  Apostles'  times.' 
Between  the  Apostles  and  this  '  presently  after  ' 
there  was  not  time  enough  for,  nor  possibility  of,  so 
great  an  alteration." 

"And,  therefore,  there  was  no  such  alteration 
as  is  pretended.  And,  therefore.  Episcopacy,  being 
confessed  to  being  so  ancient  and  Catholic,  must  be 
granted,  also,  to  be  Apostolic.  '  Quod  erat  demon- 
strandum.' " 

The  fact  is,  that  Romanism  and  Presbyterianism, 
in  some  of  their  characteristics,  are  both  uncatholic. 
They  have  more  things  in  common  than  would  be 
supposed  at  a  first  glance.  They  both  undervalue 
Patristic  learning  and  authority.  Presbyterian 
ministers,  although  well  educated  in  the  general, 
are  proverbially  deficient  in  Patristic  lore.     They 


THE   PRESBYTERIAN  COMMUNION.  49 

find  no  comfort  in  reading  the  "  Fathers,"  for  they 
ever  find  "Episcopacy,"  and  "Episcopacy"  is 
most  unsavory  to  them. 

The  Romanists,  Hkewise,  run  away  from  the 
"  Fathers  "  nowadays.  They  are  always  seeking 
proofs  of  the  Pope's  supremacy,  and  the  "Fathers" 
did  not  know  anything  about  so  novel  a  doctrine. 
The  English  Church  with  her  weighty  artillery  has 
driven  the  Roman  controversialists  out  of  their  old 
intrenchments,  and  they  are  now  seeking  a  new 
position  of  defence  in  the  doctrine  of  "  Develop- 
ment," which  as  practically  interpreted  by  them, 
means,  not  development  of  truth  revealed,  but  rev- 
elation of  new  truth.  Newman  and  Manning  have 
helped  them  on  this  new  line,  and  are  now  feather- 
ing the  darts  aimed  at  the  breast  of  their  once  dear 
Mother,  the  Church  in  England. 

The  only  safety  is  in  Catholic  truth,  and  in  the 
Apostolic  order  of  the  Church,  which  comes  to  us 
with  the  same  universality  of  evidence  that  the 
Holy  Scriptures  themselves  do — Catholic  Consent, 
and  he  who  disparages  the  idea  of  Catholic  con- 
sent, disparages  the  very  foundation  upon  which 
the  Canon  of  Holy  Scripture  rests  for  its  authen- 
ticity. 

But  the  vital  matter  for  men  to  know,  amid  all 


50  THE  PRESBYTERIAN   COMMUNION. 

these  controversies,  is  this, — that  spiritual  life 
comes  from  the  indweUingof  the  Divine  Spirit,  the 
Lord  and  Giver  of  Life.  He  dwells  in  men,  des- 
pite many  opposing  infirmities,  errors  and  sins,  else 
would  He  not  dwell  in  any  one  of  us.  How  far  a 
man  may  go  in  error  or  sin,  without  quenching  the 
life  of  the  soul,  is  not  revealed.  We  may  not  ex- 
pect in  this  our  earthly  pilgrimage  to  live  without 
these  clogging  errors  and  faults,  but  let  it  be  our 
aim  really  to  live.  It  matters  little  what  a  dead 
man  believes, — there  is  not  much  difference  in 
dead  things  ; — they  are  all  putting  on  corruption. 
But  there  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  vast  difference  in 
living  things.  The  nearer  one  lives  in  the  truth 
and  up  to  the  truth,  the  more  of  a  man  is  he,  and 
the  higher  his  possible  usefulness  and  destiny. 

Therefore,  my  children,  strive  to  walk  in  the 
truth,  and  with  boundless  compassion  for  the  igno- 
rant and  erring, — it  is  not  difficult  for  any  one 
who  fully  realizes  his  own  frailty  and  fallibility. 


THE  BAPTISTS. 

'T^HEY  are  a  very  large  Denomination  in  this 
■■■  country,  but  do  not  exercise  the  same  power 
with  the  Methodists,  because  they  lack  compact- 
ness and  unity  in  their  organization.  They  sprang 
up  about  the  time  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation, 
and  in  some  places  they  were  turbulent  and  very 
heady,  as  Luther  testified.  They  were  the  rude 
Reformers  of  that  Day. 

In  their  polity,  they  are  "  Independents  "  and 
"Congregationalists;" — each  congregation  con- 
taining within  itself  governmental  powers — each 
congregation  an  autonomy.  They  form  among 
themselves  what  they  style  "  Associations ;"  but 
these  are  purely  voluntary,  and  are  clothed  with 
very  limited  powers. 

Their  boast  is,  that  they  possess  "  no    written 

creed ;"  they    do  not  baptize   children,  and   they 

regard  immersion  as  the  only  valid  baptism — indeed 

as  alone  baptism.     They  ignore  the  question  of  the 

ministry  pretty  much,  and  attach  a  supreme  im- 

51 


52  THE  BAPTISTS. 

portance  to  two  things — "  No  children  baptized," 
and  "  adult  believers  alone  to  be  baptized,  and  by 
immersion."  They  have  among  them  some  quite 
distinguished  and  learned  men,  but  as  a  Denomina- 
tion, viewed  in  the  large,  their  preachers  and  people 
are  much  less  informed  than  the  majority  of  the 
other  sects.  Of  late,  they  are  earnest  promoters 
of  education.  They  are  exclusive, — would  be 
called  very  High  Church  among  us, — but  by  their 
fraternizations  with  other  Christian  people  in 
preachings,  etc.,  they  get  credit  among  the  un- 
thinking for  a  liberality  which  is  not  deserved ;  for 
they  will  not  commune  with  their  fellow  Christians, 
and  they  will  repel  them  from  their  communion- 
tables. The  Holy  Scriptures  they  profess  to  take 
as  their  sole  guide,  and  ignore  all  idea  of  the 
Catholic  Church  as  an  interpreter  of  divine  truth. 
Hence,  they  have  no  written  creed,  and  glory  in 
the  fact ;  although  they  hold  certain  opinions  as 
unquestionably  true ;  and  it  is  hard  for  any  one  to 
see  what  is  the  difference  between  a  spoken  and  a 
written  Creed.  The  Creed  of  every  man  is  what 
he  believes  to  be  true ;  and  whether  he  writes  it 
down,  or  lets  it  float  in  speech,  it  is  none  the  less  a 
Creed;  although,  being  unwritten  and  unrehearsed, 
it  is  more  liable  to  easy  change.     What  idea  ean 


THE  BAPTISTS.  53 

you  form  of  one's  faith,  when  he  says,  "  I  believe 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?" 

The  arguments  of  the  Baptists  are  plausible  to  a 
certain  extent  among  the  ignorant;  and  they  be- 
guile— not  to  deny  much  knowledge  among  their 
learned  men — a  great  multitude  of  ignorant  and 
really  good  people. 

I  cannot  pretend  to  go  at  length  into  the  matters 
of  difference  between  us  and  them.  There  are  a 
great  many  good  and  satisfactory  books,  which,  if 
you  should  ever  happen  to  need,  you  can  consult. 
Among  them  I  name  one,  written  by  Dr.  Hodges, 
an  old  friend  of  mine,  entitled,  "Baptism,  tested  by 
Scripture  and  History," — an  argument,  in  my  judg- 
ment, unanswerable.      I  merely  touch  a  few  points. 

The  Baptists  reject  infant  baptism,  alleging  two 
principal  objections — (first),  that  the  Scriptures  do 
not  in  so  many  words  "  command  children  to  be 
baptized,"  and  (second)  that  children  are  incapable 
ot  receiving  any  benefit  therefrom.  Whereas,  on 
the  contrary, — as  you  will  see  more  at  length  in  the 
book  referred  to — children  are  always  treated  of  in 
Holy  Scripture  as  belonging  to  the  Church.  They 
were  circumcised  into  it  tmder  the  Jewish  Dispen- 
sation, and,  when  families  and  households  were 
brought  into  the  Christian  fold,  they  were  baptized 


54  THE  BAPTISTS. 

as  "households."  Furthermore,  our  Lord  gave  it 
as  a  reason  why  His  disciples  should  not  bar  the 
approach  of  children  to  Himself,  that  "  of  such  is 
the  Kingdom  of  God,"  which  is  the  Church  of 
God ;  and  we  know  of  no  way  of  becoming  mem- 
bers of  the  Kingdom  of  God   save  by  baptism. 

Besides,  the  comparative  silence  of  Scripture  (if 
Scripture  can  truly  be  said  to  be  silent  in  regard  to 
the  matter)  is  very  significant.  We  do  not  com- 
monly say  much  about  settled  and  indisputable  facts. 
The  relation  of  the  children  to  the  Church  was  so 
universally  recognized  as  a  fact,  a  fact  not  disputed, 
that  there  was  little  occasion  to  refer  to  it  in  the 
Gospels  and  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Yet  there  is 
just  that  mention  of  it  and  the  implication  of  its 
existence  that  we  should  expect  to  find, — the 
Shepherd's  tender  care  of  the  little  ones  of  His  fold. 
His  taking  them  in  His  arms,  His  declaring  them 
"blessed,"  His  provision  for  their  nurture  in  His 
parting  injunctions  to  His  disciples,  "Feed  My 
lambs." 

In  addition  to  this  weighty  testimony  of  Holy 
Scripture,  we  have  the  universal  custom  of  the 
Church,  not  seriously  disputed  for  centuries — a  fact 
of  deep  significance  to  every  one  who  understands 


THE  BAPTISTS.  55 

that  he  receives  the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves 
upon  the  same  testimony. 

Think  of  a  flock  of  sheep  without  any  lambs  in 
it.  It  would  be  absolutely  ludicrous,  were  it  not  at 
the  same  time  so  painful.  The  Gospel  did  little  for 
the  Jews,  if  it  took  the  men  and  the  women  into 
the  Church,  and  left  the  children  out;  and  that, 
too,  when  the  Lord  of  the  Kingdom  says  that  "  of 
such  is  the  Kingdom."  Really,  to  one  acquainted 
with  all  the  grounds  of,  and  reasons  for,  infant 
baptism,  as  appearing  from  the  Scripture  alone,  it 
is  difficult  to  understand  how  a  thinking  and  learned 
man  can  be  a  Baptist.  Yet  there  are  such  men 
who  are  conscientious  Baptists.  Then,  when  you 
add  to  this  the  whole  force  of  Catholic  consent 
through  ages,  it  becomes  a  wonder  greater  still. 
Where  in  ancient  history  do  you  find  Baptist 
Churches  ? 

But  the  main  difficulty  in  the  mind  of  a  Baptist 
is  in  the  thought  that  "  children  can  receive  no 
benefit  from  baptism."  This  difficulty  arises  alto- 
gether out  of  a  misconception  of  the  nature  of 
baptism.  The  Baptist  regards  the  sacrament  as 
involving  too  exclusively  what  nia7i  has  to  do  in 
the  matter.  We,  on  the  contrary,  regard  it  chiefly 
as  something  that  God   does  for  man.     It  is  not 


56  THE  BAPTISTS. 

simply  the  profession  of  one's  faith,  but  a  reception 
into  the  Kingdom, — into  the  family  of  Heaven. 
Our  birth  of  the  flesh  is  our  entrance  into  creation ; 
it  puts  us  among  God's  creatures,  in  the  great 
Kingdom  of  Nature,  whereas,  our  Baptism  is  our 
introduction  into  God's  family,  and  is,  therefore, 
properly  and  significantly  styled  our  "  Regenera- 
tion, our  new  birth,  our  second  birth,  our  adoption 
and  incorporation  into  the  mystical  body  of  our 
dear  Lord." 

Now,  we  all  admit  that  children  can  become 
citizens  of  another  Kingdom  than  that  in  which 
they  were  born.  They  can  be  made  partakers  of 
all  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  in  so  far  as  minors 
can  exercise  them,  or  they  can  be  exercised  in  their 
behalf  They  can  receive  the  benefit  of  all  pro- 
perties given,  and  they  can  have  the  protection 
of  the  law,  and  the  right  of  having  guardianship, 
etc.  In  a  word,  they  can  have  all  the  substantial 
benefits  of  citizenship,  whilst  yet  they  are  all  un- 
conscious. What  man  would  reject  an  inheritance 
for  his  child  because  the  child  could  not  understand 
the  value  of  the  gift  ? 

Furthermore,  when  they  shall  have  reached 
years  of  discretion,  they  can  say  whether  they  will 
confirm  and  ratify  the  deed  of  their  parents,  and 


THE  BAPTISTS.  5/ 

confirm  the  citizenship  given  them  by  their  parents, 
and  thus  give  a  deep  significance  to  their  confirma- 
tion. All  this  the  Baptist  ignores, — honestly,  I 
doubt  not,  but  still  actually.  He  took  up  his 
Bible,  and  went  to  work  to  make  out  a  scheme  of 
Church  Polity  for  himself  anew,  never  sufficiently 
considering  that  the  Church  already  existed — a 
Church  that  had  brought  to  him  the  very  Scrip- 
tures which  he  was  using,  as  if  a  new  revelation, 
not  only  separating  himself  from  its  government 
and  guidance,  but  from  its  communion,  and  the 
church  members  from  communion  with  himself. 
He  thus  created  a  schism  in  the  body,  and  estab- 
lished a  sect  in  its  very  idea  schismatical.  If  the 
Baptist  idea  of  the  Church  be  well  founded,  then, 
for  centuries,  Christ  had  no  Church  on  earth:  and 
then,  of  course,  the  Church  had  failed  for  that  long 
period  of  time;  and  yet  of  that  Kingdom  there  was 
to  be  "no  end." 

Such  are  the  conclusions  necessarily  and  actually 
involved  in  the  position  of  the  Baptist.  He  does  not 
sufficiently  consider  (and  in  this  he  is  not  alone)  that 
the  Church  antedates  the  written  Word  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  that  these  Scriptures  were  written 
to  meet  the  wants  of  an  existing  Church.  The 
Epistles  were  addressed  to  the  various  Churches. 


58  THE  BAPTISTS. 

The  Gospels  are  histories  of  our  Lord's  deeds  and 
words,  and,  of  course,  were  written  after  the  events 
which  they  record ;  and  therefore  it  is  that  we  have 
to  go  to  the  Church  to  find  out  what  is  the  Word 
of  God.  These  are  very  simple  facts,  but  unknown 
to,  and  unwcighed  by,  great  numbers  of  men,  who, 
in  some  other  respects,  are  quite  intelligent  and 
well  informed. 

The  ultimate  fate  of  the  Baptist,  as  regards  the 
preservation  of  "the  faith,"  it  would  be  hard  to 
predict.  His  want  of  a  fixed  Creed  and  Liturgy 
deprives  him  of  a  great  security  against  error. 
His  congregational  character  bereaves  him  of  a 
great  deal  of  good,  and  restraint  and  guidance  that 
comes  from  mutual  helpfulness.  His  extravagant 
reliance  upon  individual  interpretations  of  Scripture 
opens  the  way  to  an  unlimited  number  of  sects, 
between  whom  there  exists  only  the  one  tie — of 
immersion  in  water   and  "  infants  rejected." 

The  name  of  the  Baptist  sects  is  becoming 
"  Legion."  The  "  Campbellites  "  or  ('*  Disciples," 
they  claim  to  be  called)  is  one  of  their  most 
prominent  oft'-shoots ;  as  yet  but  Httle  known  in 
the  world  at  large,  but  numerous  and  aggressive 
wherever  they  have  made  a  lodgement.  Individ- 
ualism bursts  into  full  bloom  under  their  favoring 


THE  BAPTISTS.  59 

auspices.  Every  man  can  be  a  preacher,  and  every 
woman,  if  she  claims  the  privilege.  With  no  estab- 
lished creed,  and  unlicensed  power  to  interpret 
Scripture,  there  must  be  as  many  actual  creeds  as 
there  are  divergent  opinions  ;  with  no  protection, 
that  appears,  from  the  most  fatal  heresy.  The  at- 
mosphere around  them  in  some  localities  will  keep 
them  orthodox  longer  than  their  system  would 
warrant. 

My  children,  adhere  steadfastly  to  a  communion 
which  holds  a  fixed  faith,  and  breathes  it  in  every 
note  of  prayer  and  praise. 


IMMERSION. 

TDERHAPS,  I  ought  to  say  a  word  about  what  the 
Baptists  claim  for  "  immersion."  I  feel  that 
I  am  touching  what  is  a  matter  of  small  moment 
in  itself,  but  yet  I  must  recognize  it  as  having  im- 
portance, because  so  much  is  made  of  it,  to  the 
prejudice  of  many  tender  consciences  and  weak 
minds.  To  a  Churchman  it  can  hardly  become  a 
practical  question,  for  his  first  concern  would  be  to 
know  if  the  minister  proposing  to  baptize  him  had 
any  commission  thereto.  The  Baptists  are  always 
arguing  the  point  of  "how  to  baptize;"  leaving  out  of 
view  the  question,  "Who  is  empowered  to  baptize?" 
Yet  the  matter  of  immersion  troubles  some  people, 
and  huge  volumes  of  immense  research  have  been 
evoked  by  the  water  controversy.  To  me  it 
appears  like  the  question,  "How  much  wax  is  to 
be  put  upon  your  seal,  in  order  to  give  validity  to 
its  impress?"  It  tends,  moreover,  to  withdraw  the 
mind  from  the  sacramental  idea  to  the  material  one. 

It  is  a  small  matter,  it  would  seem,  whether  the 
60 


IMMERSION'.  6 1 

water  goes  over  the  subject,  or  the  subject  goes 
under  the  water. 

It  makes  one  sick  to  think  how  men  can  wrangle 
over  such  questions.  They  surely  have  never 
divined  the  true  idea  of  a  Sacrament,  which  is  "  the 
outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and  spiritual 
grace."  One  may  as  well  contend  that  one  must 
eat  a  full  meal  in  order  to  receive  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, as  to  argue  that  you  must  be  drenched  in  order 
to  be  baptized. 

Without  entering  at  large  into  the  question, 
which  would  take  me  quite  beyond  my  limits,  I 
content  myself  with  saying  that  the  quantity  of 
water  is  quite  an  immaterial  part  of  the  Sacrament 
(the  Church  manifests  her  characteristic  wisdom 
and  benignity  in  allowing  both  modes) ;  that  the 
practice  of  affusion  seems  to  have  been,  as  I  fully 
believe  it  was,  the  primitive  mode ;  that  there  arc 
accounts  in  Scripture  of  baptisms,  where  immer- 
sion was  scarcely  possible;  that  affusion  can  be 
practiced  everywhere,  among  all  nations,  in  all 
climes  and  localities ;  that  immersion,  in  some 
climes  and  localities  and  seasons,  is  inii)racticab]c, 
and  that,  therefore,  it  is  more  reasonable  to  sup[)osc 
that,  where  an  ordinance  was  to  be  of  universal 
obligation,  the  mode  of  its  administration   would 


62  IMMERSIOM. 

properly  be  one  of  universal  practicability;  it  being 
in  accord  with  the  analogy  of  God's  dealings  to 
accommodate  the  Divine  requirements  to  human 
necessities ;  that  baptism,  being  made  (equally  with 
the  Sabbath)  "for  man,"  the  mode  thereof  would 
likewise  be  adapted  with  the  same  wise  and  benig- 
nant accommodation  to  all  men,  in  all  climes,  and 
under  all  circumstances. 

Looking  at  the  whole  matter  from  this  larger 
view-point,  the  insisting  upon  a  special  mode  of 
receiving  men  into  Christ's  Kingdom, —  which  is 
never  decorous,  as  in  the  case  of  woman ;  some- 
times harsh,  as  amid  the  rigors  of  winter;  sometimes 
impracticable,  as  in  countries  where  little  water  is 
to  be  found — is  not  a  reasonable  thing,  and  is  not 
in  harmony  with  the  genius  of  the  Gospel  of  our 
Lord. 

Strange  it  is  that  some  good  and  reputed  great 
men  take  quite  the  opposite  view.  They  see 
nothing  in  the  Scripture  accounts  but  immersion, 
immersion;  whether  in  the  crowded  streets  of  Je- 
rusalem, where  thousands  were  unexpectedly  bap- 
tised, or  in  the  jail  at  Philippi  at  midnight,  they 
always  imagine  full  fountains  and  overflowing 
streams.  Even  in  the  peoples  flocking  to  "  Enon, 
near  to  Salem,  where  much  water  was,"  the  prac- 


IMMERSION.  63 

ticability  of  immersing  appears  to  be  the  first  mov- 
ing cause  to  these  brethren,  who  look  at  all  these 
accounts  through  a  water  lens.  They  never  stop 
to  ask,  how  little  water  would  suffice  to  baptize 
many  men  ? — (a  good  -  sized  Baptistery  would 
suffice — )  and  how  much  water  would  be  required 
to  quench  the  thirst  of  a  thousand  camels  upon 
which  the  people  went  to  "  Enon  ?"  ;  ten  camels 
requiring  more  for  their  satisfaction  than  would  a 
thousand  men  for  baptism  by  immersion. 

The  Baptist  theory  cf  essential  immersion — 
stands  out  in  the  whole  scheme  of  Redemption,  not 
grand  indeed  to  my  vision,  but  solitary  and  pecu- 
liar, often  harsh,  and,  in  some  instances,  impracti- 
cable. Happily  it  has  made  itself  exclusive.  The 
worst  thing  about  it  is,  that  it  often  becomes  the 
"  fetich  "  to  the  ignorant  white  and  black  man.  It 
satisfies  his  senses  to  the  full.  He  is  all  over  a 
Christian  when  dipped.  In  a  great  number  of 
cases,  it  ends  the  whole  matter.  His  teachers  do 
not  believe  or  tell  him  any  such  thing,  I  am  well 
assured,  but  the  extravagant  stress  which  they  put 
upon  the  "dipping,' — a  process  which  separates 
him  from  all  other  Christians,  and  all  other  Chris- 
tians from  himself — naturally  produces  the  result 
in  weak  and  ignorant  people. 


THE  METHODISTS. 

npHE  Methodists  constitute  a  very  large  and  in- 
■'■  fluential  body  in  the  United  States,  and  exist 
as  a  Denomination  in  Great  Britain  and  her  Depen- 
dencies, and  have  missions  in  foreign  lands.  Their 
government  is  Episcopal,  made  so  by  the  assump- 
tion of  the  Episcopal  functions  on  the  part  of  t'vo 
of  their  Presbyters,  who  had  been  sent  out  to  the 
American  Colonies  by  John  Wesley,  the  founder 
of  the  sect. 

Much  controversy  has  arisen  as  to  the  intentions 
of  John  Wesley.  There  is  evidence  enough  to 
show  that  he  did  not  intend  to  form  a  Sect  in  Eng- 
land, apart  from  the  Church  in  England  where 
there  was  a  National  Church  established;  and,  yet, 
there  is  also  evidence  to  show  that  he  did  contem- 
plate the  organization  of  a  distinct  Sect  in  the 
American  Colonies;  although  he  disapproved  of 
the  assumption  of  the  Episcopate  by  Drs.  Coke 

and  Asbury,  his  superintendents  in  the  Colonies; 
64 


THE  METHODISTS.  ;65 

and  held  it  up — as  it  deserved  to  be — to  ridicule. 
He  writes — "  Call  me  a  knave,  dear  Franky  (Dr. 
Francis  Asbury — ,)  but  not  a  Bishop."* 

"London,  Sept.  20,  1788. 

"There  is,  indeed,  a  wide  difference  between  the 
relation  wherein  you  stand  to  the  Americans,  and 
the  relation  wherein  I  stand  to  all  the  Methodists. 
You  are  the  elder  brother  of  the  American  Metho- 
dists; I  am,  under  God,  the  father  of  the  whole 
family.  Therefore,  I  naturally  care  for  you  all,  in 
a  manner  no  other  person  can  do.  Therefore,  I, 
in  a  measure,  provide  for  you  all ;  for  the  supplies 
which  Dr.  Coke  provides  for  you,  he  could  not 
provide,  were  it  not  for  me — were  it  not  that  I  not 
only  permit  him  to  collect,  but  support  him  in  so 
doing. 

"  But  in  one  point,  my  dear  brother,  I  am  a 
little  afraid  both  the  Dr.  and  you  differ  from  me. 
I  study  to  be  little,  you  study  to  be  great ;  I  creepy 
you  str7it  along;  I  found  a  school,  you  a  college; 
nay,  and  call  it  after  your  own  names  !  Oh,  be- 
ware !  Do  not  seek  to  be  something !  Let  me  be 
nothing,  and  Christ  be  all  in  all. 

"One  instance  of  this,  your  greatness,  has  given 
me  great  concern.  How  can  )'ou,  how  dare  you, 
suffer  yourself  to  be  called  a  ^  Bishof? 

*  Extract  from  Wesley's  Letter  to  Asbury,  September,  20,1788. 
(see  Moore's  Life  of  Wesley,  vol.  2,  p.  285.) 


66  THE  METHODISTS. 

"  I  shudder,  I  start  at  the  very  thought.  Men 
may  call  me  a  knave,  or  2^  fool;  a  rascal,  a  scoun- 
drel, and  I  am  content ;  but  they  shall  never,  by 
my  consent,  call  me  a  Bishop  !  For  my  sake,  for 
God's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  put  a  full  end  to 
this !  Let  the  Presbyterians  do  what  they  please, 
but  let  the  Methodists  know  their  calhng  better. 
Thus,  my  dear  Franky,  I  have  told  you  all  that  is 
in  my  heart ;  and  let  this,  when  I  am  no  more  seen, 
bear  witness  how  sincerely, 

"I  am  your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

John  Wesley." 

Wesley  had  the  sense  and  churchmanship  to 
know  that  he,  a  Presbyter,  could  not  make  a  Bish- 
op. But  Wesley's  intentions, — whatever  they  ma)- 
be  claimed  to  be,  or  proved  to  be, — are  of  no  mo- 
ment ;  for  the  question  is  one  of  authority,  not  of 
Wesley  s  intention. 

The  founders  of  Methodism  were  men  of  zeal, 
earnestness,  and  power.  They  preached  with  unc- 
tion some  of  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and 
encouraged  the  emotional  element  to  a  great  and 
enthusiastic  degree.  The  low  condition  of  piety 
in  the  Church  of  England  at  the  time  greatly  fa- 
vored the  growth  of  the  sect.  Had  the  English 
Church  acted  with  the  wisdom  and  forecast,  which 


THE  METHODISTS.  ^"J 

have  marked  her  more  recent  administration,  Meth- 
odism might  have  been  utiHzed  and  controlled. 
The  Church  of  England  greatly  needed  a  stimu- 
lus. But  unwise  councils  prevailed ;  and  the  Meth- 
odists, especially  in  the  United  States,  took  a  de- 
terminate movement  away  from  the  Apostolic 
Church.  Wesley  himself  never  left  the  ministry  of 
the  Church. 

His  followers  very  early  took  ground  against  do- 
mestic slavery;  and  the  pressure  of  this  question 
had  divided  the  body  into  "Methodists  North,"  and 
"Methodists  South"  before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
civil  war.  So  great  was  the  mutual  repulsion  on 
the  part  of  the  two  bodies  thus  divided,  that  they 
have  never  yet  been  able  to  come  together  in  legisla- 
tive union,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  slavery — 
the  original  cause  of  the  division — no  longer  exists. 
Unhappily,  the  Methodists  have  become,  in  the 
Northern  States,  too  much  of  a  political  power,  and 
candidates  for  the  Presidency  find  it  to  their  inter- 
est to  play  into  their  hands.  As  they  have  gained 
in  political  power,  they  seem  to  have  declined  in 
piety  and  religious  zeal  (I  refer  now  to  the  Metho- 
dist Church  North),  and  are  gradually  losing  some 
of  their  strictest  notions  of  certain  matters  pertain- 


68  THE  METHODISTS. 

ing  to  dress,   amusements  and  the  like, — the  ulti- 
mate fate  of  all  Puritanism, 

Their  organization  is  one  of  great  power,  and 
through  their  varied  functionaries,  they  manage  to 
move  the  whole  body  of  the  Communion  by  the 
will  of  a  few  leaders.  Two  of  their  conferences 
thanked  Congress  for  impeaching  President  Andrew 
Johnson  before  his  trial  took  place.  In  some  particu- 
lars they  aremorelike  theChurch  in  Englandand  her 
daughter  in  America,  than  any  of  the  Denomina- 
tions, They  still  retain  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  in  a  mutilated  form, 
and  they  use  it  at  funerals,  marriages,  baptisms, 
and  celebrations  of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  thus  show- 
ing, that,  when  they  wish  to  draw  especially  near 
unto  God,  they  resort  to  the  use  of  a  form.  But 
yet,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  the  fashion  of  some  of 
their  preaching  to  declaim  vehemently  against  the 
use  of  forms  in  worship  Such  is  man's  inconsis- 
tency. 

They  cannot  be  said  to  have  any  "distinctive  de- 
nominational principles,"  —  as  do  the  Baptists, — 
but  owe  their  growth  and  extension  to  their  zeal 
and  diligence,  which  I  have  ever  admired  in  them, 
and  am  glad  to  recognize  at  all  times. 

Their  founders, — Wesley,  Whitefield,  etc., — were 


THE  METHODISTS.  69 

men  of  power  ;and  they  were  all  brought  up  in  the 
Church  in  England,  and  taught  by  Church  moth- 
ers in  the  Church  catechism,  baptized,  confirmed 
and  ordained  in  the  ministry  of  the  Church  in  Eng- 
land, 

Some  years  ago,  a  party  rose  up  among  them 
which  protested  against  having  Bishops,  and  also 
claimed  that  laymen  should  have  a  voice  in  their 
legislative  bodies.  It  is  surprising  that,  with  the 
last  named  claim  to  popular  favor,  the  "Protestant 
Methodists" — for  such  is  their  name — should  not 
have  had  a  larger  following ;  but  they  have  never 
become  a  large  body ;  and  now  that  the  Episco- 
pal Methodists  have  admitted  to  some  extent  lay 
representation,  they  appear  to  have  lost  much  of 
their  original  prestige,  and  will  probably  die  out. 


CONCLUSION    OF    MATTERS   PER- 
TAINING TO  RELIGIOUS  OR- 
GANIZATIONS. 

A  WORD  riiore  just  here  in  regard  to  the  Pro- 
'  testaril  Episcopal  Church — the  Church  of  my 
forefathers,  so  far  as  any  records  go.  My  descend- 
ants will  find,  as  I  have  found,  that  the  Church  of 
their  fore-fathers  presents  to  them  all  that  man 
needs  to  enable  him  to  live  a  religious  life,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  maintain  that  individuality  and 
freedom  of  thought  without  which  religion  can 
have  no  charm  and  no  enduring  power.  She  gives 
us  the  Ministry  in  unbroken  line  from  Apostolic 
days,  and  the  Catholic  Creeds,  and  none  other,  as 
the  doctrinal  conditions  of  communion.  She  gives 
us  for  our  rule  of  life  the  commandments  of  God 
and  the  precepts  of  Christ.  She  leaves  it  to  "So- 
cieties" to  add  to  the  Faith  and  the  Law.  She 
provides  a  mode  of  Avorship,  simple,  majestic  and 

reverential,  wherein  all  men's   needs   are  provided 
70 


REl.IGIO  US  ORGAN IZA  TIONS—CONCL  USION.     J  I 

for,  and  the  great  and  good  God  is  worshipped  "in 
the  beauty  of  hoHness." 

In  her  legislative  action,  there  is  guaranteed,  as 
far  as  human  sagacity  can  guarantee  anything,  safe- 
ty and  protection  for  all  who  come  within  the  reach 
of  her  authority.  The  Constitution  and  Canons  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  are,  in  my  judgment,  and  that  of  wiser  men 
than  Iam,the  justest  and  most  conservative  body  of 
laws  and  canons  that  have  ever  been  framed  by 
man.  Every  order  and  estate  of  men  in  the 
Church  is  cared  for,  and  thus  Class  legislation  is 
impossible  under  her  system. 

Her  whole  history  has  been  marked  by  so  much 
wisdom,  moderation  and  conservatism,  that  wise, 
moderate,  and  conservative  men  have  been  drawn 
to  her  by  elective  affinity.  What  a  record  is  the 
roll  of  her  children  ! 

Her  teachings  are  especially  adapted  to  enlight- 
en the  ignorant,  to  raise  up  the  lowly,  and  keep 
down  the  proud.  Hence,  the  multitude  love  to  go 
where  they  can  be  exalted,  I  desire  no  higher 
honor  than  to  have  my  name  registered  in  her  roll. 
I  ask  no  greater  security  for  my  children  than  that 
they  may  be  found  faithful  and  loyal  in  her  ranks. 
I  have  no  higher  ambition  than  to  be  found  at  the 


J 2    RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS— CONCLUSION. 

last  day  among  her  true  followers.  For  my  breth- 
ren and  companions'  sake  I  wish  her  prosperity. 
"Above  my  chief  joy,  I  prefer  Her,  — Jerusalem, 
my  Mother ! " 

Let  me  say  a  word  just  here.  There  are  some 
few  in  our  communion,  who  manifest  an  undisguised 
aversion  to  the  Protestant  character  of  our  Church. 
The  desire  to  drop  the  name  of  "Protestant"  is  with 
some,  I  fear,  the  indication  of  this  aversion.  If  I 
thought  this  was  the  underlying  rt';//w//.y  of  all  who 
favored  the  change,  I  should  strive  to  retain  the 
name  at  all  hazards ;  because  the  conflict  then 
would  be  for  principle,  and  the  name  would  be  the 
flag  around  which  every  true  son  of  the  Church 
should  rally. 

There  are  some  in  our  midst  who  decry  the  "Re- 
formation," and  disparage  the  great  "Reformers." 
I  have  only  one  word  for  them.  As  I  view  the 
matter,  they  are  not  honest  to  their  vow,"to  preach 
the  Gospel  as  Christ  has  commanded  and  this 
Church  has  received  the  same."  We  have  a  pure 
and  majestic  ritual ;  let  us  not  ape  any  other  sys- 
tem. Some  scientists  think  that  men  descended 
from  the  monkey.  I  have  not  witnessed  that  phe- 
nomenon, but  every  now  and  then,  I  am  satisfied 
that  I  have  seen  a  man  descend  to  the  monkey.    I 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS— CONCLUSIOX.   "] ^ 

heard  the  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man  make  a  speech 
at  Wolverhampton,  England,  some  twenty  years 
ago.  He  concluded  by  saying,"Finally,  my  breth- 
ren, beware  of  monks  and  monkeys."  For  my 
part  I  would  rather  see  a  man  a  monk  than  a  mon- 
key ;  and  I  occasionally  suggest  to  some  youthful 
specimens  of  the  latter  species,  "If  you  don't  like 
the  'Reformed  Church,'  the  'unreformed'  Church 
has  its  doors  open  to  receive  you.  Go  he  me !  In 
the  name  of  truth,  sincerity  and  decency,  so  far  as 
in  you  lies,  be  what  you  purport  to  be.  Use  the 
language  of  the  Bible  and  of  your  mother,  the 
Church,  and  speak  not  in  dubious  and  long  since 
discarded  phraseology  of  'masses,*  "etc. 

Sometimes,  when  I  hear  of  a  certain  kind  of 
priests  bewailing  the  Reformation,  and  using  such 
phrases  a&  "wretched  Latimer,"  etc.,  the  doubt 
will  rise  in  my  mind  whether  such  men  would  not 
prefer  to  have  piled  additional  fagots  about  the 
stake,  rather  than  to  have  gone  up  with  those  glo- 
rious martyrs  in  chariots  of  fire  to  Paradise. 


SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM 
AND  SCIENTISM. 

T  HAVE  thrown  these  three  together  for  con- 
venient handling,  and  not  at  all  to  ignore 
or  confound  the  distinctions  between  them.  Just 
now  they  seem  to  be  playing  into  each  other's 
hands  ;  and  by  their  "flocking  together,"  they  seem 
to  be  in  some  sort  "birds  of  a  feather."  The  ram- 
pant spirit  of  rationalism  in  common  life,  in  the 
public  press,  and,  sad  to  say,  in  the  pulpit  and  at 
the  altar,  allies  itself  with  a  vaunting  scientism,and 
together  they  have  engendered  a  spirit  of  scepti- 
cism, which  threatens  the  very  existence  of  the 
faith  itself  When  do  you  find  the  spirit  of  a  New- 
ton and  Bacon,  accepting  alike — with  a  childlike 
mind, — the  only  safe  mind, — the  teachings  of  Rev- 
elation and  the  conclusions  of  a  stern  inductive 
philosophy  ? 

Bacon  truly  and  grandly  said  that  "  the  entrance 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  into  the  realms  of 
science  demanded  the  self-same  spirit — '  that  of  the 

child.'  " 
74 


SCEPTICISM,  I^A  TIONAIISM  AND  SCIENTISM.  73 

I  wish  above  all  else, — for  my  children — that 
they  shall  believe  in  Christ.  If  there  is  no  reality 
in  Christ,  then  our  life  goes  out  in  darkness; — I 
leave  my  children  without  the  Sun,  and  I  take  my 
leap  in  the  dark.  But  you  will  perhaps  say,  "What 
must  I  believe  ?"  "  There  is  so  much  diversity 
of  opinion."  "  What  is  Truth  ?"  I  answer,  Christ 
is — "The  Truth;"  "Christianity — a  term  not 
known  to  Revelation — is  but  vague  and  uncertain  ; 
"Christ"  is  one  and  the  same,  "yesterday,  to-day 
and  forever:" — of  this  more  anon. 

If  you  take  a  superficial  view  of  the  distracted 
condition  of  Christendom,  you  will  be  tempted  at 
times  to  think  that  there  must  be  some  serious 
cause  for  uncertainty,  where  there  is  so  much  dixcr- 
sity  of  opinion.  Not  so — a  deeper  view  will  bring 
you  to  a  sounder  conclusion.  Let  me  illustrate 
my  meaning.  Suppose  that  a  dozen  men  arc 
called  to  the  witness-stand  to  testify  in  a  given 
case.  They  all  differ,  we  will  suppose,  in  their 
testimony  upon  certain  immaterial  points  of  evi- 
dence ;  but  upon  certain  other  points,  vital  and 
fundamental,  as  all  confess,  they  all  agree.  What 
conclusion  would  you  come  to?  Naturally  and 
reasonably,  I  think,  to  this  conclusion  ;  viz. — that 
the  matters  upon  which  they    are  all  agreed  arc 


^6  SCEP IICISM,  RA  TIONALISM  AND  SCIENT/SM. 

fully  proven,  and  not  less  fully  proven  because  of 
their  diversity  of  statement  of  certain  other  particu- 
lars,— indeed,  more  satisfactorily  proven  because 
of  that  diversity, — the  diversity  going  to  show 
that  there  was  no  collusion  among  the  witnesses. 

Now  apply  this  illustration.  Nearly  all  Chris- 
tian people,  of  whatever  name,  are  agreed  upon 
the  matters  of  faith  set  forth  in  the  Creeds  of  the 
Church.  (The  exceptions  are  so  small  as  to  be 
inappreciable  in  a  large  and  comprehensive  view 
of  Christendom).  Now  these  Creeds  contain  the 
vital  facts  of  the  Christian  faith,— the  Fatherhood 
of  God,  the  Incarnation  and  Atonement  of  Christ, 
and  the  Personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Life- 
Giver,  Sanctifier  and  Comforter.  The  truths  set 
forth  in  these  Creeds  are  so  vital  and  all-pervading 
that  a  belief  in  them  entitles  such  believer  (so  far  as 
his  faith  is  concerned)  to  Baptism  and  membership 
in  Christ.  The  Christian  peoples  affirming  this  faith 
are  divided  among  themselves  in  many  points, — 
points  of  religious  opinion,  Ritual,  Polity  and  Us- 
ages,— but  they  are  one  in  ''The  Faith."  Christen- 
dom presents  from  this  point  of  view  an  undivided 
front.  The  main  line  of  the  Church  Militant  is  un- 
broken, notwithstanding  a  few  divisions  have  been 
routed  and  scattered,  or  captured.     What  then  be- 


SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM.  yy 

comes  of  the  argument  used  by  infidels  and  scof- 
fers that  they  know  not  what  to  beheve,  in  view 
of  the  divided  condition  of  Christianity?  If  they 
will  accept  only  the  faith  in  which  Christendom  is 
united,  and  accept  it  as  rational  beings  should  ac- 
cept such  a  faith,  they  will  be  good  Christians. 

Moreover,  as  it  regards  morals,  —  all  Christians 
are  united  in  accepting  the  law  of  God,  interpreted 
by.Christ,as  the  rule  of  a  Christian  man's  life.  Let 
any  man  live  up  to  those  precepts  of  Christ,  which 
all  Christendom  accepts,  and  he  will  live  a  godly 
and  Christian  life. 

How  strong,  then,  and  hitherto  unassailable,  is 
the  line  held  by  the  Church  Militant, — "the  blessed 
company  of  all  faithful  people."  I  might  pause 
here  to  note  how  weak,  lamentable,  foolish,  and 
wicked  a  thing  it  is  for  any  Christian  man  to  do 
anything  to  weaken  the  strength  of  this  line  by 
needless  and  ambitious  divisions,  but  this  is  aside 
from  my  present  purpose. 

Infidelity,  in  every  age  of  the  world,  has  planted 
itself  for  the  overthrow  of  Christianity  —  as  yet, 
without  any  serious  break  of  the  line  of  Christian 
truth.  Every  argument  that  the  wit  of  man  and 
the  malice  of  the  Adversary  could  devise  has  been 
levelled  against  it, — so  far  without  success.      lu'ory 


^S  SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM, 

new  discovery  in  science  has  been  peered  into  to 
find  a  weapon  with  which  to  attack  the  intrench- 
ments.  The  Heavens  have  been  scaled,  the  Ocean 
sounded,  the  bowels  of  the  Earth  have  been  ran- 
sacked, with  the  same  hostile  intent.  Jews,  Turks, 
infidels,  heretics,  and  scientists  have  made  common 
cause  against  that  system  which  will  yield  to  none, 
and  would  fain  save  all.  Yet  The  Faith  still  sur- 
vives and  triumphs.  A  wonderful  and  sublime 
spectacle  it  is  indeed,  inspiring  and  strengthening 
the  faith  of  all  who  declare  that  of  "this  Kingdom 
there  shall  be  no  end." 

Modern  scientism,  with  the  same  intent,  has 
gone  to  work,  with  a  diligence,  eloquence,  and  re- 
search, worthy  of  a  better  cause,  to  batter  down 
the  walls  hitherto  impregnable.  Its  highest 
achievements,  were  it  to  accomplish  its  purpose, 
would  be  to  deprive  man  of  God's  Fatherhood, 
quench  the  light  of  revealed  truth,  destroy  all  hope 
of  immortality,  and  range  the  race  of  men  among 
the  brute  creation,  —  an  animal  only  of  a  higher 
order. 

It  is  a  matter  of  profound  interest  to  inquire, 
whence  this  spirit  was  evoked  which  would  bring 
such  a  blight  upon  the  fair  creation  ?  If  it  were 
the  necessary  conclusion  of  science,  which  it  is  not 


SCEPTICISM,  RA  TIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM.  79 

one  would  think  it  would  be  reached  at  least  with  a 
sigh  or  a  moan.  But  there  are  men,who  can  render 
the  whole  world  Fatherless  without  a  sigh;  extin- 
guish every  hope  beyond  the  grave  without  a  pang  ; 
and  dissolve  the  faith  of  centuries  without  a  tcar,alas! 
I  have  no  quarrel  with  science.  Christianity  has 
none.  Her  sphere  never  traverses  the  orbit  in 
which  science  has  its  being.  Science,  truly  so- 
called,  is  the  handmaid  of  revealed  truth.  It  is  the 
"oppositions  of  science,  falsely  so-called,"  which 
as  even  in  past  ages  we  have  to  encounter  now. 
Where  Science  stops,  having  reached  its  uttermost 
verge,  and  finds  forces  and  powers  which  elude  in- 
vestigation, and  baffle  all  inquiry,  there  Revelation 
begins,  and  discloses  to  faith  the  Divine  Father- 
hood in  the  Great  Creator,  in  whom  all  things"live, 
move  and  have  their  being." 

The  present  favorite  theory  of  what  are  called 
"advanced"  scientists,  is  that  of  revolution,  not  de- 
velopment, which  latter  is  always  in  manifest  work- 
ing. Under  this  theory  of  evolution  not  only  the 
lower  creation, but  man  himself,  mind  and  all, is  the 
product  of  an  endless  series  of  growths  from  an 
original  germ, — they  call  it  "Protoplasm."  There 
would  be  no  serious  objection  to  this  theor}-,  if  it 
had  any  adequate  proof  to  sustain  it ;  but,  so  fan 


8o  SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AX D  SCIENTISM. 

it  is  announced  and  heralded  without  sufficient  cre- 
dentials. 

Now,  no  scientific  theory  can  claim  our  accep- 
tance until  it  has  received  what  we  may  call  "  cath- 
olic (universal)  consent."  The  same  rule,  you  will 
observe,  holds  in  regard  to  scientific  truth  as  to  re- 
vealed truth.  The  theory  of  evolution  has  not  re- 
ceived universal  acceptance,  even  among  scientific 
men.  Astronomy  is  a  science— ha.s  its  fixed  laws, 
and  prevails  by  catholic  consent.  It  is  not  yet  so 
with  Evolution :  it  is  still  under  trial  and  investiga- 
tion. The  scientist,  as  does  the  sectarian,  flies  ofi* 
from  the  "catholic  system"  of  established  truth, 
and  attaches  himself  to  a  "  school  "  of  thought 
Like  the  sectist,  he  parades  his  individuality,  and 
founds  a  sect  in  philosophy.  Meanwhile,  you  can 
afford  to  wait  for  the  Conclusions  of  Science.  Re- 
ceive them  as  true,  and  adjust  yourselves  to  their 
logical  requirements. 

If  the  theory  of  Evolution  was  true,  they  have 
only  removed  the  difficulty  a  step  farther  back. 
They  have  not  quit  themselves  of  the  necessity  of 
an  original  Creator.  For  whether  the  Creator,  by 
virtue  of  His  omnipotent  power,  created  all  things 
after  the  genera  in  which  they  now  exist,  or  crea- 
ted the  original  material,  out  of  which  all  things 


SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM.  8 1 

were  successively  evolved,  there  is  equally  a  neces- 
sity for  an  original  creative  act.  Therefore,  Evo- 
lution— if  it  were  true  as  a  theory,  and  proved  to 
be  true  by  induction— could  not  affect  the  truth  of 
the  being  of  a  God, — the  first  truth  in  natural  as 
in  revealed  religion. 

Therefore,  in  so  far  as  the  existence  of  a  God 
is  concerned,  they,  the  theorists,  may  safely  go  on 
with  their  theories,  but  they  will  ever  find,  and 
find  it  pretty  soon,  a  force,  a  life,  or  whatever  they 
may  choose  to  call  it,  permeating  all  things,  ex- 
plaining all  things, — itself  inexplicable.  They  call 
it  the  "  unknowable. "  They  have  reached  the 
end  of  their  line;  it  has  run  itself  out,  but  they 
have  not  touched  bottom.  Yet  they  vaunt  them- 
selves upon  having  found  the  "  unknowable."  One 
would  think  they  would  be  touched  with  some- 
thing of  humility  and  reverence,  but  I  have  failed 
to  see  that  spirit — rather  that  of  vanity, — strange 
that  man's  vanity  should  be  inflated  by  the  discov- 
ery of  his  ignorance  ! 

Practically,  however,  the  theories  of  the  modern 
scientist  have  tended,  in  a  great  many  minds,  to 
obliterate  the  sense  of  a  God,  and  to  diminish  faith 
in  all  Divine  Revelation.  This  is  its  practical  out- 
come among  great  numbers,  showing,  I  think,  how 


82  SCEPTICISM ,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM. 

easily  people  will  become  credulous  when  they  have 
no  faith  ;  how,  having  not  the  truth,  they  will 
clutch  at  its  caricature.  I  have  read  much  of  the 
writings  of  these  men.  They  seem  to  be  what  we 
call  smart  men;  they  do  not  strike  me  as  profoimd 
men.  They  do  not  impress  me  as  Plato  and  Aris- 
totle and  Shakespeare  and  Bacon  impress  me. 
They  seem,  in  comparison,  to  theorize  and  chatter. 
I  have  great  sympathy  with  a  modern  writer  who 
is  reported  to  have  said,  "  I  am  content  to  find 
my  ancestors  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  Let  those 
who  prefer  otherwise,  seek  theirs  in  the  "Zoologi- 
cal Gardens." 

But  one  thing  they  do  ; — and  for  that,  all  good 
and  true  men  must  hold  them  accountable;  if  at 
no  other  bar,  at  the  bar  of  decorum  and  reason. 
Their  influence  goes  to  destroy  alike  the  sense  of 
God,  and  to  lower  the  dignity  and  responsibility 
of  man.  The  revealed  Word — which  I  cannot 
throw  away  for  the  sake  of  an  unproven  theory — 
the  revealed  Word,  I  say,  proclaims  that  at  crea- 
tion, God  made  man,  and  made  him  as  He  made 
nothing  else  ;  did  not  evolve  him  by  gradual  pro- 
cesses from  lowest  germs,  but  made  him  after  His 
own  image,  and  endowed  him  after  His  own  like- 
ness.    I  cannot   throw   away  that  truth,    with   all 


SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM.  83 

that  it  involves  of  human  dignity  and  possible  im- 
mortality, for  an  undemonstrated  theory.  Surely, 
what  St.  Paul  said  of  the  heathen  of  his  day  is 
true  of  the  heathen  now  in  our  midst,  "they  did 
not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge."  O 
my  children !  Come  not  ye  in  their  assembly ; 
unite  not  your  honor  to  such  as  these.  These 
men  are  not  blessing  their  race  by  any  moral 
earnestness.  They  are  not  founding  your  homes 
for  the  destitute,  the  widow  and  the  fatherless. 
They  are  prating; — "  ever  learning  and  never  able 
to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth."  Learn  the 
principles  of  Science,  (as  Newton  and  Bacon  taught 
them),  and  you  will  never  be  beguiled  by  theories 
of  scientism. 

Evolutionists  of  the  most  advanced  school  tell 
us  that  man,  starting  from  the  simplest  forms  of 
matter, — mind  itself  being  but  "  a  mode  of  brain 
motion," — as  they  assert,  and  evolving  by  gradual 
processes,  is  moving  on  to  perfection  ;  that  thus, 
finally,  all  evils  will  be  rectified,  all  disorders  ad- 
justed, all  rights  recognized,  and  the  regeneration 
of  society  fully  accomplished.  The  antagonisms 
and  discontent  of  the  laboring  classes,  the  struggles 
of  woman  for  what  she  claims  as  her  rightful  co- 
ordination  in    human   affairs,    etc.,    all    these    arc 


84  SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM. 

triumphantly  pointed  to  as  indications  of  the  pro- 
gress of  society  towards  its  perfect  consummation. 
In  all  such  prognostications,  the  influence  of  the 
Christian  religion  is  by  some  disparaged,  by  some 
ignored,  and  by  others  utterly  repudiated  as  a  su- 
perstition, barring  the  way  to  a  more  rapid  pro- 
gress. These  men  glory  in  the  fact  that  they  have 
nothing  to  do  with  anything  save  "  phenomena;" 
and,  by  that  expression,  they  mean  the  phenom- 
ena ot  the  material  world,  counting  nothing  real, 
save  that  which  is  material. 

Yet  there  are  phenomena  in  the  world  of  mind, 
which  cannot  rationally  be  ignored, and  which  must 
be  considered,  classified  and  explained.  There  are 
questions  which  force  themselves  upon  the  mind, 
and  which  must  be  answered  in  some  way.  They 
demand  an  answer.  Such  a  question  is  this,  for  ex- 
ample, "What  think  ye  of  Christ?  Whose  Son  is 
He  ?  "  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  this  question  is 
irrelevant  to  the  scientific  mind.  He  stands  face 
to  face  with  this  undeniable  and  pregnant  fact, that, 
only  in  those  parts  of  the  Earth,  where  the  Christ- 
ian religion  prevails,  is  there  any  marked  advance- 
ment, even  in  science  and  in  the  industries  and 
arts  of  life  ;  and  that  the  only  heathen  nations 
which  are  now  manifesting  signs  of  awakening  life 


SCEPTICISM,  RA  TWNALISM  AND  SCI  EN  T ISM.  8$ 

— as  China  and  Japan — are  those  which  have  felt 
the  quickening  influences  of  contact  with  Christian 
peoples.  This  question,  and  other  questions  of  sim- 
ilar import,  cannot  be  contemptuously  thrust  aside, 
and  relegated  to  the  "domain  of  metaphysical  in- 
vestigation." They  are  matters  of  fact  (great 
problems  to  be  solved) — as  much  so  as  any  in  the 
domain  of  physics  ;  and  are  quite  as  worthy  of  ob- 
servation as  the  anatomy  and  habits  of  bugs  and 
reptiles. 

The  indifference  of  some  so-called  wise  men  to 
the  study  of  "Final  causes"  is  to  me  an  astound- 
ing phenomenon,  and  causes  one  often  to  doubt 
whether  every  man  is  indeed  a  truly  rational  be- 
ing. I  met  with  a  disciple  of  this  school  some  time 
ago.  Such  men  abound  nowadays  ; — smart,  indeed, 
but  not  very  profound ;  dealing  with  the  surface  of 
questions,  and  contemptuously  ignoring  all  consid- 
eration of  the  final  causes  of  things  visible  or  invis- 
ible. We  fell  into  discourse  upon  religious  mat- 
ters. I  urged  upon  him  the  importance  of  consid- 
ering such  matters.  He  replied  that  he  had  "no 
faith  whatever  in  Christianity  ;  that  he  had  read 
volume  upon  volume  on  Christian  evidences,  but 
they  had  made  no  impression  on  his  mind, "and  con- 
cluded by  saying  "that  it  was  not  worth   while   for 


86  SCEPTICISM,  RATIONAIISM AND  SCIENTIST. 

US  to  argue  the  matter,because  there  "was  no  com- 
mon ground  from  which  we  could  start."  I  then 
asked  him  if  he  "did  not  think  it  the  duty  of  every 
man  to  try  to  bring  himself,  by  culture  and  labor, 
to  his  highest  possible  perfection  ?  "  ''Unquestion- 
ably," he  replied.  "Well  then,"  said  I,  "here  is  a 
ground  we  can  both  start  from.  Now,  in  the  effort 
to  bring  your  character  to  its  highest  perfection, 
must  you  not  have  some  rule,  standard  or  model 
by  which  to  work  ?  The  artist  who  wishes  to  make 
a  representation  of  some  object  in  nature,  say  a 
tree,  or  horse,  seeks  out  the  best  specimen  of  such 
object,  and  aims  to  reproduce  it,  does  he  not  ?" 
"Yes,"  he  said,  "assuredly."  "Then,"  I  urged, "in 
trying  to  bring  yourself  up  to  your  highest  capa- 
bility, would  you  not,  for  like  reason,  cast  about 
you  for  the  best  specimen  of  human  character,  in 
order  that  you  might  have  the  advantage  of  a  mod- 
el to  work  by  ?  You  would  not  reasonably  look 
within  yourself  for  the  ideal  man.  The  effort  to 
make  yourself  a  better  man  implies,  that,  as  yet, 
you  know  yourself  to  be  an  imperfect  one.  In 
makingyourself  the  ideal,  you  would  be  only  re- 
peating and  reproducing  yourself,  would  you  not?" 
"No,"  said  he,  "I  would  not  look  to  myself,  I 
would  take  some  better  specimen  than  myself  for  a 


SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM.   87 

model.  I  would  properly  take  the  best  man  that 
I  knew,  and  try  to  imitate  his  virtues."  "Now," 
I  urged,  "who  is  the  best  man  that  ever  lived  ?" 
"I  know  of  but  one  man  without  sin,"  he  very  rev- 
erently said.  "Who  was  that  man  ?"  "Jesus 
Christ."  "Then,  does  it  not  follow  from  what  you 
have  admitted,  that,  in  the  effort  to  perfect  your 
character,  you  should  set  before  you  for  imitation 
Jesus  Christ?"  "I  see  no  way  of  evading  the  con- 
clusion," he  admitted,  "but  I  did  not  anticipate 
reaching  such  a  conclusion." 

There  is  no  way  by  which  the  above  conclusion 
can  be  evaded,  save  by  denying  the  supreme  ex- 
cellence of  Christ :  and  to  this  depth  the  dreariest 
infidelity  has  rarely  fallen.  Surely  the  man  of  sci- 
ence, the  sociologist,  the  philanthropist,  can  join  in 
with  the  devout  believer,  in  his  most  exalted  mood, 
and  all  with  one  acclaim  crown  Him  the  Christ, 
Chief  of  all,  "///r  One  among  ten  thousand,  the  One 
altogether  lovely.'' 

In  this  connection,  let  me  further  press  this 
point, — viz,that  \hQsc\eni\sis, even  from  their  stand- 
pohit,  are  bound  to  meet  the  great  question  of  ques- 
tions, "What  think  ye  of  Christ;  whose  Son  is  He  ?" 
For  if  it  be  true,  as  they  afiirm,  that  man  has  been 
evolved  from  the  lowest  forms  of  matter,  and  is  to 


88   SCEPTICISM,  A' A  TIOXALISM  AND  SCIENTISM. 

ascend  by  continued  evolution,  to  his  highest  per- 
fection, how  did  it  happen  that  the  most  perfect 
specimen  of  manhood  appeared  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era? — assuredly  not  the  most  ad- 
vanced era  in  history.  According  to  the  accepted 
system  of  the  philosophers  of  this  school,  Christ 
should  have  appeared  at  the  culminating  point  in 
evolution,  and  not  at  the  inauguration  of  His  era. 
How  came  He  to  antedate  the  final  consumma- 
tion ?  He  has  certainly  done  so.  Every  advance- 
ment in  morals  and  social  order  at  the  present  day 
is  but  an  approximation — as  yet,  faint  indeed — to 
the  style  of  human  life  which  He  set  forth  in  His 
teachings  and  exemplified  in  person.  All  the  be- 
neficence of  this,  the  most  beneficent  age  of  the 
world — in  its  care  for  the  diseased,  the  destitute,and 
the  outcast— finds  its  spirit  and  impersonation  in 
Him,  Who  "went  about  doing  good."  He  is  the 
luminous  point  in  all  history.  His  influence  is  the 
greatest  known.  His  birth  constituted  a  new  era 
in  time.  All  that  man  in  the  times  before  him 
knew  of  the  rights  and  humanities  of  life  was  in 
Christ  renewed,  enlarged,  illuminated  ;  with  much 
added  that  they  knew  not  of  All  that  man  has 
truly  taught  since,  and  is  now  truly  teaching,  of 
the  relative  duties  of  life,  can  be  found  in  His  pre- 


SCEPTICISM,  RATIO N'ALISM AND  SCIENTISM.   S9 

cepts  and  exemplified  in  His  sublime  life.  The  ob- 
servance by  all  men  of  the  Christian  rule  of  life 
would  bring  about,  confessedly,  a  millennial  age. 
Prophets  converge  in  Him;  Apostles  radiate 
from  Him.  At  this  hour,  the  better  part 
of  the  world,  as  it  moves  on  and  forward, 
looks  back  to  Him  for  guidance,  as  oarsmen,  pro- 
pelling the  boat,  ever  look  back,  as  they  row,  to 
their  helmsman.  When  human  nature  shall  have 
reached  its  possible  perfection,  it  will  be  because  it 
has  been  more  and  more  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
Christ.  Wars  between  capital  and  labor,  jealousies 
of  caste,  social  antagonisms,  and  all  wrongs  will 
cease  when  men  shall  belike  Christ,  when  the  laws 
of  trade  shall  be  superceded  by  the  law  of  love,  and 
every  man  shall  "love  his  neighbor  as  himself." 
"  Love  worketh  no  ill ;  therefore  love  is  the  fulfill- 
ing of  the  law." 

Now,  let  the  men  of  science  answer  the  ques- 
tion concerning  Christ,  "Whose  Son  is  He?" 
They  cannot  answer  it  from  their  standpoint.  Their 
doctrine  of  Heredity  furnishes  no  clue  to  His 
parentage.  From  what  they  know  they  must  let 
that  question  rest  in  still  silence. 

But  take  the  Christian  view, — that,  nut  by  nat- 
ural generation,  but  by  a  supernatural    Incarnation 


90  SCEPTICISM,  RA  TIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM. 

— the  Word  of  God  becoming  flesh — He,  the  Son 
of  God — that  is  His  Heredity — came  among  men, 
— then  all  these  questions,  which  cannot  otherwise 
be  explained,  are  fully  answered.  St.  Philip  said 
to  the  Master,  "  Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and  it 
sufficeth."  Yes,  it  sufficeth, — it  covers  the  whole 
area  of  human  need.  The  cry  of  Philip  is  the  cry 
of  sufifering  Humanity,  "Show  us  the  Father."  The 
answer  which  came  back  from  Christ,  responsive  to 
this  cry,  is  the  crowning  knowledge  to  poor  strug- 
gling and  weary  man.  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time 
with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  Me,  Philip  ? 
"  He  that  hath  seen  Mc,  hath  seen  the  Father.'' 

Would  you,  my  children,  become  acquainted  with 
God,  your  Father,  and  be  at  peace?  Then  study 
Him,  not  only  in  the  realm  of  Nature, where  He  so 
gloriously  manifests  His  power  and  wisdom,  but 
seek  to  know  Him,  as  mirrored  in  His  only-begotten 
Son,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — the  Brightness  of  the 
Father's  Glory — the  express  Image  of  His  Per- 
son." 

Let  nothing  shake  your  faith  in  this  foundation, 
which  is  elect  and  precious, — which  has  stayed  the 
hopes  of  millions  in  past  ages,  and  affords  the 
only  refuge  and  footing  for  the  generations  to 
come. 


SCEPTICISM,  RATIOA'ALISM  AXD  SCI  EN  T ISM.  9 1 

"Let  no  man  deceiv^e  you  with  vain  words."  Let 
no  pretentions  to  profoundness  in  the  smart  men 
of  the  age  for  a  moment  beguile  you.  I  have  ever 
found  profound  men  to  be  men  of  faith.  They  see 
deep  enough  to  know  that  behind  and  below  all  phy- 
sical phenomena,  there  is  a  great,  first  and  intelligent 
Cause  in  whom  all  things  live,  move  and  have  their 
being.  "  He  that  formed  the  eye  shall  He  not  see  ?" 
Such  men,  instead  of  staggering  at  the  mysteries  of 
Revelation,  accept  them  in  childlike  faith,  as  the 
crowning  proof  of  the  exceeding  love  and  gracious- 
ness  of  the  Father,  Who  did  not  create  a  world 
in  which  He  could  not  send  His  Word  to  His  chil- 
dren— aye  more,  send  Him  to  take  upon  Himself 
their  nature,  to  talk  with  them,  and  to  tell  them  of 
duty  and  danger;  how  to  live  and  how  to  die,  and 
thus  how  at  last  to  find  their  way  home  to  the 
Father's  house,  that  they  may  dwell  with  Him  for- 
ever. 

What  a  contemptible  and  dreary  conception  of 
the  great  and  good  Creator  must  they  have,  who 
cannot  reckon  it  possible  that  He  can  guide  and 
bless  His  children,  hear  their  prayers  when  they 
cry  unto  Him.  A  wise  man  would  not  make  a 
machine  which  he  could  not  guide  and  control  ac- 
cording to  his  will.        Yet  do  these  modern  scicn- 


92  SCEPTICISM,  RATIONALISM  AND  SCIENTISM. 

tists  deny  to  the  Almighty  the  power  and  wisdom 
which  dwells  in  the  creatures  of  His  hands. 

We  are  living,  my  children,  in  the  midst  of  a 
mighty  conflict  between  the  spirit  of  faith  and 
the  spirit  of  unbelief  It  is  the  same  old  battle 
that  has  been  waged  from  the  beginning;  only 
now  intensified  by  the  wider  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  increased  activity  of  thought— the 
same  conflict,  on  a  larger  field  and  by  greater 
numbers. 

In  such  a  conflict  as  this  every  true  man  must 
take  sides,  for  or  against — there  should  be  no  neu- 
trality with  such  issues  impending.  "  If  the  Lord 
be  God,  follow  Him!"  "  If  Baal,"  or  Babel,  or 
what  not,  "follow  it."  Be  something  real  and 
sincere — be  a  Man. 

But,  whatever  be  the  issues  of  the  hour  to  our- 
selves personally,  one  thing  is  most  certain. — 
"The  Foundation  of  the  Lord  standeth  sure,  hav- 
ing this  seal,"  "  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are 
His."  These  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  faith, 
are  not  "driven  about  by  every  wind  of  doc- 
trine ; "  having  heard  and  done  the  words  of 
Christ,  they  stand  unshaken  amid  the  storms  of 
controversy,  because  builded  upon  the  Rock  of 
Ages. 


SCEPTICISM,  RA  TIONALISM  AND  SCIENTIST.  93 

The  faith  of  Christ  is  much  more  than  a  system 
of  truths — it  is  a  conscious  hfe.  It  is  not  open  to 
speculation  but  rests  secure  in  deep  personal  con- 
viction. This  maybe  no  sufficient  evidence  to  an- 
other, but  it  is  full  proof  to  one's  self  He  can 
proclaim  with  a  full  heart  and  unclouded  reason — 
and  until  he  can  thus  speak,  he  has  not  gone 
down  to  the  foundation  laid  deep  in  the  soul's 
consciousness — that  which  wells  up  within  him  as 
he  daily  looks  up  to  Christ  and  finds  peace,  com- 
fort and  strength  flowing  into  his  heart,  "  My 
Lord  and  my  God  !  " 

Until  one  reaches  this  consummation,  he  may 
be  ever  theorizing,  ever  controverting  and  "  ever 
learning,"  not  coming  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth — even  the  knowledge  of  God,  "  whom  to 
know  aright  is  Life  Eternaiy 


CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS. 

AT  the  commencement  of  the  original  volume, 
I  quoted  the  words  of  King  David  to  his  son 
Solomon,  "  Be  thou  strong  therefore,  and  show 
thyself  a  man." 

I  do  not  know  any  closing  words  which  would 
be  so  apposite  as  those  which  tell  you  what  it  is 
to  be  a  man,  and  what  it  is  to  show  one's  self  a 
man. 

The  ideal  of  manliness  which  each  one  forms  to 
himself,  will  depend  upon  the  degree  of  intellect- 
ual and  moral  elevation  to  which  he  may  have  at- 
tained. To  the  mind  of  the  savage,  the  success- 
ful hunter  or  the  daring  warrior  presents  the 
highest  type  of  manliness. 

He  is  the  savage  lord,  and    rules   his   tribe   by 

dint  of  a  strong  arm,  and   takes   leadership  as    a 

lion  among   lions.     Hence    the    names   by  which 

the  savage   chief  is   called, — "The    Lynx-Eyed," 

the   "Swift- of- Foot,"    the    "Wolf-of-the-Prairie," 

the    "  Sitting-Bull,"    etc.      Such   are   the    names 

which  give  expression  to  the  savage  idea  of  man- 
94 


CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS.  95 

liness, — names  which  link  him  in  with  the  brute, 
whom  he  would  fain  emulate  in  swiftness,  fierce- 
ness and  force. 

Now,  take  up  your  histories  of  people  who 
have  emerged  from  a  state  of  barbarism,  and  you 
meet  with  names  of  leaders  of  men,  which  give 
expression  to  higher  ideas  of  greatness  and  excel- 
lence,— "The  Wise,"  "The  Good,"  and  "The 
Just." 

Always  you  may  "mark  the  elevation  ot  a  peo- 
ple by  the  titles  of  those  to  whom  they  pay  the 
highest  honor.  There  is  an  immense  stride  from 
the  "Sitting-Bull"  to  Aristides  "The  Just." 

If  we  come  into  what  we  call  civilized  life,  and 
begin  our  observation  low  down  in  the  strata 
of  society,  in  the  atmosphere  of  saloons  and  gam- 
ing tables,  you  will  find  the  successful  pugilist  the 
manliest  in  the  ring;  muscle,  wind  and  pluck 
crown  the  victor,  and  encircle  him  with  the  girdle 
of  honor.  Here,  in  such  an  atmosphere,  grow  up 
the  boys,  who,  with  open-mouthed  admiration, 
are  learning  their  lesson  of  manliness,  — to  "swear 
like  men,"  "fight  like  men,"  and  to  "  take  their 
liquor  like  men." 

Now,  come  from  these  dregs,  which  lie  at  the 
bottom  of  all  our  social  life, — where  riot  and  de- 


9.6  CHRISTIAM  MANLINESS. 

baucheiy  and  brute  force  reign  supreme, —  and 
look  into  a  more  advanced,  but  still  unregenerate, 
condition  of  society. 

What,  in  popular  estimation,  is  it,  to  show  one's 
self  a  man?  Is  he  esteemed  manliest,  who,  like 
his  Maker,  is  long-suffering,  forbearing  and  forgiv- 
ing ?  Or  is  it  he  who  maintains  the  so-called 
point  of  honor  to  the  last  extremity,  who  will  sac- 
rifice every  law,  human  and  divine,  at  the  shrine 
of  his  heated  passions,  or  the'  demands  of  a  vicious 
public  opinion,  and  vindicates  his  manhood  by 
trampling  under  foot  the  law  of  God?  See  how 
this  spirit  flames  out  in  our  children  scarcely 
fledged!  See  how  in  their  childish  brawls  they 
foreshadow  their  ideas  of  a  coming  manliness. 

We  are  not  following  the  leadings  of  a  sickly 
sentimentalism  in  setting  forth  a  standard  of  high- 
er manliness.  Where  must  we  look  to  find  the 
most  exalted  types  of  humanity  ?  Who  was  the 
noblest  of  the  sons  of  men  ?  There  is  but  One. 
He  stands  alone,  unapproachable  and  incompara- 
ble. In  His  presence  the  most  unblushing  infi- 
delity stands  admiring,  if  not  adoring — Him,  the 
Incarnate  Word,  dwelling  among  men  in  the  same 
fleshly  tabernacle,  environed  by  the  same  atmos- 
phere, and  encompassed  by  the  same  temptations. 


CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS.  97 

He  who  does  not  feel  the  supreme  necessity  of 
the  presence  of  such  an  one  on  earth,  not  only  to 
reveal  God  to  men,  but  also  to  make  manifest  the 
ideal  man,  has  learned  but  little  in  regard  to  per- 
fecting his  own  nature,  and  comprehends  but  little 
of  man's  greatest  needs.  I  am  not  now  talking  to 
you  of  theology  or  creeds.  I  am  speaking  of  the 
Man  of  History,  the  Man  of  Every  Age. 

Take  the  greatest  man  of  this  era, — the  Caesar 
Augustus,  who  ruled  the  then  known  world.  The 
chief  distinction  of  that  illustrious  emperor — all 
that  now  survives  of  his  memory — is  the  fact 
of  history  that,  while  he  reigned,  Christ  was  born. 
His  only  fame  now  is  the  same  with  that  of  the 
manger  and  village  of  Bethlehem, — they  indicating 
the  place  where,  and  the  time  when,  Christ  was 
born.  They  all — prince,  village  and  manger — 
serve  alike  but  as  landmarks  in  the  track  of  time 
to  point  out  the  beginnings  of  that  Kingdom  of 
which  there  shall  be  no  end. 

Without  prestige  of  birth,  and  with  "no-wbere 
to  lay  His  head,"  of  obscure  lite  and  ignominious 
death,  followed  by  disciples  of  no  repute.  He  yet 
gave  birth  to  a  new  era  in  time  ;  and,  among  ci\'il- 
ized  peoples,  the  centuries  do  now  date  from  His 
Nativity.     We  cannot  discourse  of  men,  and  leave 


98  CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS. 

out  of  \aew  the  "Son  of  Man."  As  well  speak  of 
mountains,  and  fail  to  note  that  which  stands  loft- 
iest ;  as  well  speak  of  the  solar  system,  and  take 
no  note  of  the  sun. 

Men  may  say  what  they  will  of  creeds  and  sys- 
tems of  theology  and  philosophy.  They  may  de- 
ny Deity  and  deify  matter ;  but  they  cannot  blot 
out  from  history,  nor  dislodge  from  the  hearts  of 
men,  the  Christ  of  History, — Him,  "the  Son  of 
Man."  No  wonder  that  at  the  inauguration  of 
His  mission,  the  Heavens  were  opened,and  a  voice 
from  the  "Excellent  Glory"  proclaimed  "This  is 
My  beloved  Son."  Had  the  Heavens  been  silent 
the  very  stones  must  have  cried  out. 

There  was  a  deep  necessity  for  the  advent  of 
such  a  Man.  The  Divine  image  in  men  had  been 
defaced,  almost  obliterated.  There  were  still  up- 
on earth  the  strong  man  to  think,  strong  to  work, 
strong  to  fight;  but  where  could  you  look  to  find 
the  man  who  realized  in  his  own  life  the  Divine 
Image, — the  God-mirroring  man. 

I  cannot  dwell  at  length  upon  that  wonderful 
life  of  Christ's  on  earth,  and,  show,  as  I  would 
love  to  show,  how  strong  He  was  to  do  good,  and 
how  strong  to  resist  evil ;  how  sublimely  forgetful 
of  self,  and  how  self-sacrificing  in  His  care  for  oth- 


CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS.  99 

ers.  I  touch  a  single  feature  of  that  wondrous 
character — His  forbearance  under  provocation  and 
reproach.  I  single  out  this  particular  feature  of 
the  manliness  of  Christ,  because  it  is  just  here  that 
His  example  stands  out  in  the  most  striking  con- 
trast with  the  maxims  of  the  world  and  the  pas- 
sions of  men.  For,  advanced  as  we  may  be  in 
morals  and  self  government,  society  is  as  yet  at  an 
immeasurable  distance  from  the  precepts  and  ex- 
ample of  the  Son  of  Man.  True  it  is  that  we  do 
not,  except  in  our  Territories  and  new  settlements, 
decide  questions  of  title  to  land,  etc.,  by  the  strong 
hand ;  but  an  unregulated  public  opinion  still 
condones,  if  it  does  not  justify,  the  appeal  to  arms 
in  the  duel  or  street  brawl.  Still  it  is  true  to  a  re- 
markable extent,  that  men  are  called  upon  to 
"show  themselves  men,"  and  vindicate  their  man- 
liness by  the  exhibition  of  brute  force.  The  duel 
is  passing  away  before  the  advance  of  Christian 
civilization, — chiefly,  I  fear,  because  of  the  political 
disabilities  which  a  participation  in  it  involves,  but 
there  is  springing  up  in  its  place  the  street-brawl, 
in  which  men  find  satisfaction  for  their  angry  pas- 
sions. The  daily  record  of  these  bloody  encoim- 
ters  is  a  blot  tipon  the  civilization,  not  to  sa\-  the 
Christianity,  of  the  age.      The  duel  had  a  touch  of 


lOO  CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS. 

chivalry,  and  originally  of  pity  in  its  character; 
for  in  olden  times,  it  was  an  appeal  to  God  "to 
show  the  right."  The  modern  street  brawl  is  an 
unmitigated  shame.  The  rules  of  ancient  chivalry 
allowed  that  a  combat  might  honorably  terminate 
by  the  presence  on  the  field  of  a  lady,  or  a  priest 
or  the  King, — the  presence  of  the  latter  represent- 
ing the  supremacy  of  the  Law.  Is  the  omnipres- 
ence of  the  King  of  Kings  no  reality  to  one  who 
has  sworn  fealty  to  that  Sovereign  ? 

Whence  comes  that  imperious  law  which  holds 
our  men  to  such  a  fearful  issue,  which  compels 
them,  as  I  have  often  known,  to  stifle  the  best  feel- 
ings of  their  hearts,  to  insult  the  majesty  of  human 
law,  and  to  put  their  sacrilegious  hands  upon  that 
prerogative  which  God  Himself  proclaims  "is 
Mine?"  If  I  know  whence  it  is,  it  must  be  be- 
cause men  imagine  that  their  honor — their  manli- 
ness— is  involved.  Is  this  indeed  so  ?  Waive  all 
consideration  of  the  reason,  the  good  citizenship, 
the  piety  of  it,  if  possible,  does  manliness  require 
it? 

By  what  rule  shall  we  try  this  question  ?  Which 
way  shall  we  go  to  find  it  ?  Shall  we  go  upward, 
and  regard  man  after  that  Divine  likeness  in  which 
he  was  made  ?       Or  shall  we  go    downward,  and 


CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS.  lOI 

seek  in  the  resemblance  which  he  bears  to  the 
lower  creation,  the  source  of  that  unruled  passion 
which  impels  him,  upon  every  provocation,  to  re- 
sort to  brute  force  in  deadly  combat? 

Here  we  find  it, — low  down  in  the  unreasoning 
passion  and  brute  instinct  w^iich  locks  the  beasts 
of  the  field  in  deadly  conflict ;  in  the  venomous  rep- 
tile, which  strikes  its  fang  into  whatever  crosses  its 
path  or  purpose;  in  the  savage  state,  where  one's 
manliness  is  measured  by  his  unrelenting  hate  to 
an  enemy,  and  his  manly  prowess  by  the  number 
of  scalps  that  hang  on  the  wall  of  his  wigwam. 

The  young  Arab— so  the  story  goes — begins  to 
attain  the  stature  of  a  man.  At  the  accepted  time 
his  father  taunts  him  with  being  "a  woman.'' 
The  young  Savage  understands  too  well  that  he  it 
now  called  upon  to  "  show  himself  a  man."  All 
the  brute  within  him  is  stirred.  He  takes  the  in- 
strument of  death,  waits  until  the  shades  of  night 
have  fallen,  and  prowls  about  the  tent  of  some 
hereditary  foe.  When  his  practised  ear  catches  the 
breathing  of  assured  sleep,  he  leaps  the  enclosure, 
puts  his  weapon  to  head  or  heart;  a  sure  thrust  or 
firm  pull  makes  him  "a  man!"  Next  morning 
his  tribe  greets  him  "a  man!"  Woman  will 
smile  upon  him  now,  and  listen  to  his  vows  (has. 


I02  CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS. 

she  ceased  even  now  to  smile  upon  such  men?); 
and  he  takes  his  first  degree  in  savage  manHness. 

We  have  gone  low  down  in  the  scale  of  crea- 
tion; let  us  go  upward,  and  see  how  this  matter 
looks  from  another  and  higher  standpoint. 

More  than  eighteen  centuries  ago,  there  was  a 
child  born  in  an  obscure  village  of  the  East.  A 
wonderful  lineage  was  His — "  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  born  of  a  virgin"  mother.  As 
He  grew  in  stature,  He  "grew  in  wisdom  and  in 
favor  with  God  and  man."  When  He  was  anoin- 
ted for  His  holy  mission,  God  the  Father  sealed 
Him,  the  Divine  Spirit  descended  upon  Him  in 
the  form  of  a  dove.  He  came  as  the  Prince  of 
Peace  to  a  world  in  revolt.  Lest  the  symbol  of 
the  dove  should  fail  to  herald  His  mission,  there 
came  a  voice  from  the  "  Excellent  Glory,"  and 
made  proclamation,  "This  is  My  Beloved  Son,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased." 

What  was  the  manliness  of  Him  who  was  thus 
ushered  into  the  world  in  the  form  and  with  the 
nature  of  man  ?  Surely  we  may  learn  something 
from  One  with  whom  the  Heavenly  Father  was 
"well  pleased."  "When  He  was  reviled.  He  re- 
viled not  again  ;  "  "  when  He  suffered,  He  threat- 
ened not."     Any  man  can  revile  again,  when  re 


CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS.  I03 

viled,  but  how  sublime  the  forbearance  which  would 
rather  save  than  destroy  an  enemy! 

When  He  was  at  last  hunted  down  by  those  who 
would  drown  in  death  the  voice  they  could  not  an- 
swer, there  was  one  act  of  private  vengeance, — a 
follower  of  His  smote  a  servant  of  the  high  priest 
and  cut  off  his  ear.  The  crowd  around  thought, 
doubtless,  that  there  was  one  manly  man  among 
the  disciples;  and  yet  this  very  man,  a  few  mo- 
ments later,  denied  his  Master  at  the  taunt  of  a 
girl.  Christ  bore  it  all;  told  his  follower  to  put  up 
his  sword;  stretched  forth  His  hand  and  healed  the 
wounded  servant;  lifted  up  His  voice  in  prayer  for 
His  murderers;  in  His  sublime  pity  sought  an  ar- 
gument for  them,  "  Father,  forgive  them  ;  they 
know  not  what  they  do." 

We  gaze  upon  this  sublime  compassion  as  it 
merges  into  the  Infinite  pity,  and  the  conviction 
becomes  overwhelming,  that  this  Son  of  Man  was 
no  creation  of  men's  imagining.  The  mind  cannot 
conceive  of  that  of  which  it  has  no  experience,  and 
for  which  it  has  no  analogy.  The  old  mythologies 
create  for  us  men  and  women  like  ourselves,  with 
all  our  little  prides  and  passions.  We  greet  the 
Christ  with  an  adoring  wonder.  At  infinite  dis- 
tance we  strive  to  follow  Him.     We  wouki  fain  sit 


J04  CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS. 

at  His  sacred  feet,  and  strive  in  our  poor  way  to  be 
like  Him.      He  is  the  true  man.     "Ecce  Homo." 

Now  go  with  me  from  the  lowest  grade  of  hu- 
man nature, — the  savage  in  his  war  paint,  nursing 
his  hate  as  a  virtue;  having  no  word  for  forgive- 
ness; because  not  knowing  what  it  is.  Trace  this 
nature  as  it  emerges  from  the  barbarous  into  the 
Christian  life  (and  there  are  men  who  fear  God, 
and  love  their  fellow-men) ;  trace  it  through  all  its 
gradations  of  excellence  until  you  reach  the  "  Son 
of  Man,"  the  "lost  Image"  of  God  the  Father, 
and  say,  "What  is  it  to  show  one's  self  a  man  ?" 

But  men  will  plead — what  will  they  plead  ? 
The  necessity  of  self  defence ;  the  needful  limita- 
tion of  forbearance,  where  it  ceases  to  be  a  virtue  ; 
the  weakness  of  resolve,  and  the  irresistible  force 
of  public  opinion.  Yes,  I  am  not  insensible  to  the 
force  of  such  appeals.  I  know  too  well  what  hu- 
man weakness,  under  strong  temptation,  may  al- 
low a  man  to  do.  But,  whatever  may  be  our 
imperfections,  let  us  not  lower  the  perfection  of 
the  Christian  standard.  Plead,  then,  whatever  you 
will,  of  human  imperfection,  for  not  being  as  you 
ought  to  be  in  the  way  of  forbearance,  but  take 
care  that  you  plead  not  manliness!  For  the  sake 
of  Him,  the  manliest,^the  man  that  would    not 


CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS,  105 

hurt  His  fellow-men,  but  would  die,  and  did  die,  to 
do  them  good,^ — do  not  plead  vianlincss  !  If  I 
have  wronged  another,  it  is  manly  in  me  to  con- 
fess and  repair  the  wrong.  He  is  not  a  true  man 
who  will  not  confess  his  fault.  If  another  has 
wronged  me,  oh !  it  is  more  than  common  manli- 
ness— it  is  almost  divine^ — to  forgive. 

The  life  of  Christ  was  not  a  long  life, — thirty 
years  of  household  duty,  three  of  public  adminis- 
tration. Learn,  then,  this  great  truth,  -  that  the 
value  of  life  must  be  reckoned,  not  only  by  its 
length,  but  by  its  depth  and  breadth  ;  as  I  have 
before  said,  "  not  only  by  its  extent,  but  by  its  in- 
tent y 

He  accumulated  no  earthly  treasure,  but  He  has 
left  us  heirs  of  all  things. 

He  gained  no  fame  in  His  day,  and  yet  He 
founded  a  kingdom  which  shall  know  no  end. 

His  own  people  rejected  Him,  and  yet  genera- 
tion after  generation  rise  up  and  call  Him  blessed. 

No  tongue,  save  that  of  a  malefactor,  confessed 
Him  when  He  died ;  and  yet,  now,  myriads  of  all 
tongues,  and  climes,  and  ages  do  bow  at  the  men- 
tion of  His  name. 

The  moral,  then,  of  the  whole,  my  children, — 
and  with  this  I  close  the  volume, — is  this:     Give 


Io6  CHRISTIAN  MANLINESS. 

not  much  heed  to  the  opinions  or  judgments  of 
the  present  hour.  A  supreme  tribunal  will  re- 
view present  decisions,  and,  mayhap,  will  reverse 
them. 

The  moral  of  the  whole  is  this : — That  is  the 
longest  life  which  in  its  aims  and  achievements 
reaches  the  farthest,  and  that  is  the  manliest  life 
which  is  the  most  self-sacrificing  and  unselfish. 
That  is  the  life  cTf  Christ,  "  the  Way,  the  Truth 
and  the  Life." 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


-■        MIL       r   -rj, 
RECEIVED 

JUN    8198& 


Form  L9 — 15»n-10,'48(B1039)444 


CJaVEI        .V)-^  CALIFORNIA 


^5       Guide  marks  f  < 


BR 
515 


BR515   .W68g 
y 


L  009  619   270  3 


